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FROM
OTLEY TO LANGSTROTHDALE
BY HARRY SPEIGHT
SCALt * MILES TO AN INCH
• ,-A
UPPER
WHARFEDALE.
BEING A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE
HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES AND SCENERY
OF THE PICTURESQUE
VALLEY OF THE WHARFE,
FROM OTLEY TO LANGSTROTHDALE.
HARRY SPEIGHT,
AUTHOR OK " ROMANTIC RICIIMOXDSIIIHE "; " NIDUKRDAI.K AND THE GARDEN OF THE NIDD '
" CRAVES AND NOKTH-WEST YORKSHIRE HIOHLANDB," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
LONDON :
ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.
1900.
Entered at Stationers' Hall,
ULVERSTON :
W. HOLMES, OTTO PRINTING WORKS, LIGHTBURNE ROAD.
1900.
PREFACE.
HE present treatise on Upper Wharfedale is offered
in continuation of the series of my -published volumes
on the history, antiquities and scenery of the
Yorkshire Dales. The work, I must own, makes
no pretence to literary excellence, nor is absolute
accuracy in all details guaranteed, yet I humbly claim it to be the
fullest and I hope the most reliable survey of the district embraced
now extant. While much of a general and descriptive character
has been written on this exceedingly popular and picturesque valley,
it must be noted that with the exception of such records as are
contained in the History of Craven by Dr. Whitaker, first published
in 1805, no attempt has hitherto been made to deal succinctly and
adequately with the varied concerns of its extensive parishes in what
may be considered the spirit of modern topographical enquiry. Dr.
Whitaker, followed by his able editor, Mr. A. W. Morant, F.S.A.,
will always be honored for the great value of his original researches,
which however principally concern manorial history and the titles
and lineage of the great lords who had either by inheritance or
purchase a possessory right in the soil. His work, moreover,
embracing the whole of the ancient and extensive Deanery of
Craven is a bulky and costly volume.
In the present effort to describe a more limited area of this
picturesque part of Yorkshire, I have supplemented and corrected
where I have been able the historical records of Dr. Whitaker. At
the same time I have endeavoured to make the work interesting
by the introduction of a variety of other topics, such as geological
descriptions, notes on natural history (a very rich field), folk-lore and
old customs (which surviving in retired country places may often be
traced to their Anglo-Saxon or even remote Celtic origins) as also
traditions, legends, and anecdotes of persons and things ; subjects
in fact that possess a fascination to the general reader. The whole
work is also brought down to date.
Originally it was my intention to have embraced in one volume
a survey of the whole of the Wharfe valley from the parish of
Cawood to the source of the river in the solitudes of Langstrothdale.
But such a scheme would have necessitated the omission of a great
deal of valuable original material, inasmuch as the records, together
with the varied interest attaching to such parishes as Tadcaster ,
Wetherby, and Thorp Arch, not to mention other places within the
attractive region of the Lower Wharfe, are quite sufficient to make a
portly volume in themselves. In order therefore to do adequate
justice to the whole subject I proposed in the Prospectus issued in
connection with this present work to deal with the valley in two
volumes, the first to embrace UPPER WHARFEDALE and the second
(not less interesting) LOWER WHARFEDALE ; and care has been taken
by this arrangement not to interfere with the collaboration and
completeness of the whole.
Resident as I have always been in the vicinity of Wharfedale,
the charmingly-picturesque valley has been familiar to me from early
boyhood, and its abounding attractions have always possessed to me
more than ordinary delight. Thousands of happy hours I have spent
in the valley and I have walked thousands of miles throughout its
length and breadth, observing and noting every visible feature and
object of interest, while my maternal ancestors, as will be seen from
the pedigree on pages 338-9, have lived in the ancient parishes of
Skipton and Burnsall, and probably within sound of the bells of
Bolton Abbey, for more than five hundred years. Folk of no State
distinction they ever were, but humble commoners as the Fates made
them, racy of the soil from which they sprang, ready ever to serve
their country and their God ; men who under the banner of the
"Shepherd Lord" shared England's hopes and glory on the memorable
Field of Flodden, or who taking up arms as their consciences dictated
for King or for Parliament joined in the strife that led to the fateful
day of Marston Moor.
In the preparation of this book therefore, I have had ample
material from which to build up the story of every parish from the
first evidences of its life. I have noted and described, I believe,
every object of historical and archaeological interest, all the ancient
camps, cairns, tumuli, stone circles, marked stones, house-steads,
roads, dykes, and other evidences of prehistoric occupation. But in
so wide a district, comprising vast extents of wild fell and uncultivated
moorland, there may possibly be some object or remains of this kind,
which have escaped notice, obscured as they may be by centuries'
growth of peat and turf. Some of these overgrown prehistoric sites,
as for example the extensive encampment within the township of
Thorpe in Burnsall parish, I have been guided to discover merely by
acquaintance with the Celtic names of the sites where they lie.
In the light, too, feeble often though it be, of these ancient place-
5
N, as also of sculptured rocks, crosses, holy-wells, church
symbolism and the like, I have been able to form some interesting
conclusions on the occupation of the district from remote pagan to
early Christian times. Things likewise that enable us to speak of the
gradual abandonment of crude religious beliefs, and of the nobler
aims and art of the people brought about by the development and
spread of Christianity.
The original settlements and orthographical interpretation of
the various places dealt with, have been based on carefully-considered
historical and philological evidences, and in all cases with due
deference to the original character of the sites and remains so far as
their existing aspects enable us to determine them.
Coming to the period of actual written evidences, almost every
parish chest and available archive, locally as well as in London,
Wakefield, and York, has been examined, including old Sessions'
Records, Wills, Fines, Inquisitions, Pipe Rolls, Charter Rolls, Close
Rolls, Patent Rolls, Chancery Proceedings, Calendar of State Papers,
Heralds' Visitations, Archiepiscopal and other Registers, as well as
most of the publications of the learned societies and thousands of
valuable newspaper cuttings collected by me during past years.
Some of the parishes and places but lightly touched on by Whitaker,
such as Otley, Leathley, Addingham, Burley and Grassington, I
have dealt with at length. The much-visited localities of Bolton
Abbey and Barden Tower I have also treated in somewhat
considerable detail. For much of the information related about
these places I am indebted to the generous condescension of His
Grace the Duke of Devonshire for the privilege of an inspection of
the charters and numerous old documents at Bolton Hall, facilities
for the examination of which were courteously given by His Grace's
steward, Mr. Alfred Downs. Many items of more than local interest
have thus been brought to light, including some account of the
historic Barden Tower, and the life that gathered round it during the
stirring epoch of the famous "Shepherd Lord." Some fragments are
also offered of a long-lost cell or religious house at Marton-in-Craven,
and of the ancient "Wake" of St. Cuthbert at Embsay, a great annual
event at one time, but the recollection of which must long have been
forgotten.
The history of manorial and other families and biographical
sketches of local worthies, including abstracts from unpublished deeds
and pedigrees, have received commensurate attention. Likewise
every notable building, ecclesiastical as well as domestic, has been
described from my own personal observations, such descriptions in
many cases being aided by engravings illustrative of special features.
In the preparation of a work of this character, it is a pleasure to
state that I have been very willingly assisted by many of the gentry
and other residents in Wharfedale. Indeed, there is not n village or
a hamlet that I do not owe to one or more of its inhabitants facts of
more or less importance obtained or related to me personally on the
spot, or communicated to me by letter at various times. Every
clergyman in the Dale too, from Otley to Langstrothdale, has been
most obliging in allowing me to inspect the old parish books, registers,
and other documents in their keeping, from which I have been able
to make many useful abstracts and interesting reflections on past life
in the Dale. It is a matter of much regret that I cannot mention
every one separately by name and am perforce obliged to make this
general acknowledgment of help so ungrudgingly rendered.
Outside the district information has also reached me from
almost all quarters of the globe. It is impossible to acknowledge
the kind communications of every writer. To the Rt. Hon. Lord
Hawkesbury I am particularly indebted for various information
communicated in the midst of his many and pressing duties, and
especially for his assistance in preparing the useful and important
pedigree of the noble House of Cavendish, as all the published
pedigrees of the Dukes of Devonshire are singularly deficient and
inaccurate. The Rev. J. R. Baldwin, East Barton ; the Rev. W. C.
Kendall, Aysgarth ; Mr. Wm. C. Maude, Bournemouth , and Mr.
Cecil Tennant, F.S.A., London, have also courteously complied with
my wish to furnish a detailed lineage of their respective families,
which are among the oldest in Upper Wharfedale and its
neighbourhood. To Major Parker, of Browsholme Hall, I owe an
explanation of some difficulties in connection with the Currer
pedigree, printed on pages 248-9, which has enabled me to connect
that historic family with my old yeoman ancestors, the Moorhouses,
referred to above.
I have also had the use of two small unpublished manuscript
volumes on a part of Wharfedale, kindly placed in my hands by Mr.
W. Venables Rhodes, of Cleckheaton. They are of no historic value,
but are interesting as being the earliest prose volumes on Wharfedale
extant, containing several pen and ink illustrations, and dated on the
title-page 1807. The author's name is not stated. They contain,
however, some useful particulars on contemporary events such as the
running of the coaches, holding of markets, descriptions of buildings,
&c., then existing, and wherever I have quoted from them
acknowledgment has been made. To Mr. John Hopkinson,
F.R.MetS., St. Albans, I am indebted for the valuable Tables of
Rainfall in Wharfedale, printed on pages 19-21. Mr. Francis Darwin,
J.P., of Creskeld, has supplied many useful notes, and he has also
been good enough to revise the proofs of the chapters on Bramhope
and Pool. Very little hitherto has been recorded of these places.
For various other kindly help, information, loan of papers, &c., my
thanks are due to the Rev. Canon Beanlands, M.A., Victoria, British
Columbia ; the Rev. Thos. Parkinson, North Otterington ; the Rev.
7
T. Basil \Voodd, M.A., London ; Sir James Ramsay, Bart., M.A.,
Bamff, Messrs. T. E. Yorke, Bewerley Hall; Arthur C. Benson, Eton;
Geo. B. Nesfield, London; W. G. Collingwood, M.A., Coniston; John
Varley, C.E., Skipton, J. W. Clay, F.S.A., Brighouse ; J. R. Boyle,
K.S.A., Hull; Richd. E. Leach, M.A., Appleby ; J. W. A. Black,
Bradford; Wm. Butterfield, Bradford; David Longbottom, Silsden ,
J. A. Clapham, Bingley; J. Norton Dickons, Bradford; John J. Stead,
Heckmondwike; Gilbert Metcalfe and Nathaniel J. Hone, London.
The illustrations from which the engravings have been made
and which form a conspicuous and useful feature of the book, have
been remitted from various quarters, and many of them have been
specially taken for the work. They include also some valuable and
scarce originals. In preference to an enumeration here of the names
of those who have been good enough to allow me to engrave their
views, portraits, &c., I have, in accordance with my usual plan,
indicated on pages 16 to 18 the sources from which they have been
derived.
The bulk of the pictures have been engraved and the printing
of the book and binding have been executed at the works of Mr.
William Holmes, Ulverston. The quality of this work must be left
to speak for itself.
In conclusion, my thanks are due to the numerous and influential
body of subscribers whose patronage has materially assisted me in
the publication of the work. Their names are printed at the end of
the volume.
HARRY SPEIGHT.
BINGLEY, YORKSHIRE,
Midsummer, 1900.
SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER I., OTLEY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PREHISTORIC
TIMES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25
General character of Wharfedale — Its isolation, healthfulness, and surpassing- scenery
— History and antiquities — Rocks and wild flowers — Early settlements in the parish
of Otley — Some British and Roman roads — Otley under the Romans — Celtic
survivals — Important discoveries — Local evidences of Roman Christianity — Holy
Wells, &c. — Otley in the kingdom of Elmete — Abounding British remains — Otley
an early and important religious centre — The planting of the Cross — Historical
and other evidences — Local misconceptions — The first Yorkshire monasteries —
Dedication of churches to All Saints — Local dissent in the 7th century — Pipin's
Castle near Otley — Saxon Otley — Meaning of Otley — Local ethnology — The
inroads of the Danes — The victory of King Athelstan — His grant of Otley to the
See of York — The Archbishop's jurisdiction and privileges— The first church —
A dual right of sanctuary at Otley.
CHAPTER II., RECORDS OF THE PARISH OF OTLEY FROM THE
NORMAN CONQUEST... ... ... ... ... ... 38
Settlement and extent of the Norman parish of Otley — The feudal manor, how worked
— Township areas — Guiseley and the origin of its parish — Baildon and Bramhope
in Domesday — The extinct wapentake of Gereburg, its origin and purpose — Claro
wapentake and the Curia Regis — The origin of lordships — The gallows at Otley—
Hanging a bellman — Citation of local executions— Rewards for felling thieves —
Warrant against the Archbishop — Unpublished market-charter for Otley — Local
errors — Ancient laws of sale and barter — Markets held in the nave of the church —
A picturesque Otley fair-day — The monks of Bolton, Arthington, &c., attend the
fairs — The Archbishop's manor-hall and court at Otley — Ancient burgage tenure —
How Otley was anciently represented in Parliament — Local monastic possessions —
Foundation of a leper's hospital at Otley — The building of Otley bridge — Otley in
the 1 4th century— Abbot of Selby at Otley and local inns — The "Shepherd" Lord
Clifford at Otley after the battle of Flodden — A i6th century Otley muster-roll- -
Otley during the Civil War — Menston Old Hall— Local events, Extracts from the
Registers — The xyth century hearth-tax— Otley and the 1715 and 1745 rebellions.
CHAPTER III., THE TOWN OF OTLEY, PAST AND PRESENT... 57
The town of Otley — Noted visitors — Antiquity of the parish and origin of die church —
Comparison with Dewsbury — Historical and architectural account of the church —
The building of the aisles — Endowment of the chantry-chapels — The tombs and
tablets — The families of Fairfax, Fawkes, and Vavasour — The medieties of the
church — List (annotated) of vicars — Abstracts from the registers — The churchyard
— The Grammar School — Local Nonconformity — The Friends — Wesleyans —
Independents — Baptists — Primitive Methodists, &c. — Old roads and streets, their
origin and significance— Old Otley inns — Attack on Lord Fairfax — Life at Otley in
the coaching-days— The railways — Pleasant aspects— Local trades and industries —
The Wharfedale Agricultural Society ; its origin and history — Amusing anecdotes
— Various old customs at Otley — The Maypole— Old Otley families— Distinguished
natives.
CHAPTER IV., AROUND OTLEY 91
Delightful scenery and associations — Bishop Tunstall's praise — Local geological
formation — View from the Chevin — Otley Bridge — Newhall Old Hall — Local
families — Interesting relics at Newall Hall — Otley Union — A centenarian.
CHAPTER V.. FARNLKY ... 99
Farnley Hall and the Fawkc- taniily -The family muniments— Historical sketch The
late Mr. Ayscough F'awkc- and the Rev. Frederick Fawkes The hall and il-
trea-nrc- The Turner drawing- Relic- of the Civil \Var The park -Sale of
pedigree stock The church Discovery of a lead coffin.
CHAPTER VI., THE PARISH OF LEATHLEY 107
Beautilul scenery The Washburn -Meaning of the name -Local field-names Pre-
Coii(|uest Leathley Manorial history Meaning- of LYathley — The De Lclay- and
other families Warburton's visit to I.eathley The Pilgrimage of Grace The
Cliurcli Architectural description Comparison with Celtic churches Historical
records The old rectorv Curious old stocks and whipping-post -Ancient trades
at I.eathley Boundaries of the common -The school and almshouses Mr-.
Wat-on, centenarian I.eathlcv Hall Castle\-, the hall, &c. Historical notes
Chapel Field Ancient manor-house -A rural solitude.
CHAPTER VII., ROUND ABOUT POOL 127
Pool Bridge— A rare fern— History of Pool— Local monastic possessions < )ld families
— Old trades and inns -The church — Picturesque aspects Local mansions -Leeds
and Otley turnpike -Cycling scenes —Caley Hall, an old hunting-lodge of the
Gascoignes Park stocked with deer, zebras, &c.
CHAPTER VIII., BRAMHOPE 135
Meaning of Hramhope — Situation and wide view --Roman camp —Historical records —
Land cultivated from ancient times — The Domesday carucate — Dyneley family
Local monastic properties— Tenants in bondage -Hramhope Hall The Rhodes
and Darwin families — The old chapel erected during the era ot the Commonwealth
— The old churchyard — The new church of St. Giles — The Wesleyan Chapel —
The Craven Institute.
CHAPTER IX., BURLEY 139
The old cotton mill and how it was worked — The new mills — Burley in the van of
progress— Historical records — Meaning of Burley -Local families -Descent of the
manor -Monastic possessions— The church— The late Rev. Dr. Black -The Maude
family— Notable houses -Recent alterations -Burley Great Pudding -Burley Hall
Local Worthies— Handsome memorial to the late Rt. Hon. W. L". Forster
Greenholme Mills, a model factory — Mr. VVm. Fison and the late Mr. Forster
Local benefactions — Anecdote of Mr. Forster — His death and funeral — The poet
Watson
CHAPTER X., ON THE EDGE OF THE MOOR 156
Burley Wood Head — The Kumbalds Moor hermit Ancient -tone circles The old
hamlet of Stead — The Stead family — Remarkable instance of continuous residence
in one spot — Stead Hall — The Twisleton family Picturesque aspects -Probable
site of Roman camp - Prehistoric remains ( )ld local families A moorland walk
Hawksworth Hall and the Hawksworths < )kl Menston families Menston Old
Hall — The asylum.
CHAPTER XI., THE PARISH OF WESTON 163
Rural aspects — Antiquity of the parish — Manorial history— The manor never once sold
from the Norman Conquest to the present time — Weston Hall — Old tithe-barn —
The Norman Church — The tithes— View of the surrounding country — Whin Castle
— Dog Park, an old Forest Lodge — Askwith, meaning of its name — Historical
records — The family of Askwith — The Kendalls — Old (Juaker Meeting-House —
Wesleyans Village inns -Askwith Fea-t.
to
CHAPTER XII., DENTON AND THE FAIRFAXES ... ... 172
Meaning- of Denton Si. Helen's Gill — Wild plants, &c. — Scales Gill- Charter
mentioning- ancient boundaries — Denton an ancient centre of the clothing' trade
The Fairfax family — Their extraordinary talents — Distinguished visitors at Denton
Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax Thomas, Lord Fairfax, the Parliamentary General
Sale of Denton to the Ibbetsons Denton Hall —Old-time life at the hall The old
chapel — The present church— Old customs.
CHAPTER XIII., ILKLEY BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST... 185
Ilkley mentioned by Ptolemy —A Brigantian station — Meaning- of Olicana — The Anglo-
Saxon subjugation— Conjectural site of the British "city" The Roman station
Description of the Roman camp — Local discoveries — The "Verbeiie" stone
Meaning of Wharfe- The "Hercules" stone, its probable significance— Christianity
prevailing' in places not reached by the Romans— The Celtic Church -Early forms
of baptism A remarkable Roman grave-slab at Ilkley — Other discoveries — The
Ilkley camp the focus of four Roman highways — Their routes described — Saxon
Christianity at Ilkley — Local sculptured crosses — Local influence of St. Wilfrid —
Ilkley a Danish mint — Antiquity of boundaries— Ancient methods of cultivation.
CHAPTER XIV., THE TOWN OF ILKLEY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT 201
Contrast between old Ilkley and the present — Rustic aspects — The "Cow and Calf" rocks
— Ilkley "illuminated" at the Queen's coronation — A murder in the Cow Pastures--
The Butterfield family- The old White Wells — Manorial records — Unpublished
market-charter — Ilkley contributes to the war ag-ainst Scotland The English
defeat at Bannockburn— Population and old inns— The Parish Church — Grammar
School — Places of public worship — The old vicarag-e — Schools — Museum Con-
valescent homes — Coaches to and from Ilkley — Former life at Ilkley — Distinguished
visitors — Old customs — Recent improvements — The Ilkley of to-day — Wheatley
and its old Hall.
CHAPTER XV., RUMBALDS MOOR: ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES
AND ANTIQUITIES ... ... ... ... ... ... 224
Unrivalled attractions of Rumbalds Moor — Meaning of its name— St. Rumold, a
Christian martyr — View from the top of the moor — Local geology — Glacial
evidences— Curious rocks and traditions — Advent of man — Original Goidelic
settlement — "Cow and Calf" rocks — Marked stones and circles — Their universal
dispersion — Local workers — Descriptive list of antiquities on the Moor — Theories
and ideas respecting them — Symbols of time, &c. — Evolution of the Sun-Snake —
The doctrine of the ascending spirit — The marked stones, the basis of Ilkley's
existence — Necessity for their careful preservation — Projected military encampment
on the Moor — An unrivalled playground.
CHAPTER XVI., AROUND ILKLEY 244
Great changes about Ilkley— Hebers' Gill, formerly Black Beck— -An ancient tribal
boundary Silver Well — Hollin Hall— The Hebers, Maudes, and Currers — Ilkley
Bridge— Myddleton Lodge and the Middletons — The late William Middleton Esq.
— His private benevolence — Sale of part of the Middleton estate.
CHAPTER XVII., AROUND BEAMSLEY BEACON 255
Howber Hill, its meaning— Supposed tumuli— Beacon lighted during the threat of the
French invasion — Fine prospect — Langbar — An ancient paved way — Barnbowers —
Currer Hall— Farrand House— West Hall and the Ferrands— Beacon House— The
Briggs family— The late Mr. B. B. Popplewell— Church services at Beacon Hill—
Local Wesleyans — Ling' Park and the Kendalls.
I I
CHAl'IKR XVIII., XESSFIKLD 265
Meaning of NYsslield ( 'aMleberg, a prehistoric ramp Local discoveries Low Mill
Scar Norman land-cultivation Plumpton family .Manor-house and mill ( )ld
homeMeacU John Prior, clock-maki i- The Kendalls and Nesstields 'I'hc new
church 'I'hc swing-bridge.
CHAPTER XIX., PRE-NORMAN ADDINGHAM 270
Banishment ot an Archbishop of York to Addingham in A.I). ISjo Abounding pre-
historic sites Discovery ol a brun/e spear-head Roman road through .-\ddingham
I he coaching (lavs Close House Roman camp on Counter Hill Prehistoric
tumulus Ancient boundaries Curious field-names Local discoveries.
CHAPTER XX , ALL ABOUT ADDINGHAM FROM THE NORMAN
CONQUEST 275
Little hitherto recorded about Addingham Addingham in Cumberland- -Domesday
testimony Meaning1 of Addingham Historic evidences The Battle of Flodden
The Reformation A local martyr The Parish Church Local families A
centenarian Remarkable discoveries 'Lithe-barn Kvents at Adding-ham during
the Civil \Var Abstracts from the old parish books Pinfold and ducking-stool —
i'ettv Sessions Old customs Some old houses The old School The manor-house
Lartield Hall --Local Nonconformists Old trades The power-loom riots.
CHAPTER XXI , ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF BOLTON ... 287
Prehistoric evidences Bolton, a possession of the Earls of Mercia — Conjectural royal
residence at Bolton in Saxon times — Domesday inquest — Superior importance of
Snaygill, &c., to Skipton Importance of Embsay and Halton - Probable centres of
Celtic missionary work— Grant to Romille and the building of Skipton Castle.
CHAPTER XXII., EMBSAY "WAKE" AND THE FOUNDATION
OF BOLTON PRIORY... ... ... ... ... ... 291
Beautiful scenery Motives for site of the Priory —Ancient religious associations at
Embsay -St. Cuthbert's "Wake" The Celtic Church in Northumbria The
painting of St. Cuthbert at Bolton Priory —The great Fair at Embsay — Remains of
the Priory at Embsay— Citation of grant of the manor of Bolton — Leg-end of the
Strid- The grange of Stead — Specte Beck and the name Speight Citations from
unpublished charters.
CHAPTER XXIII., BOLTON ABBEY: RECORDS OF EIGHT
CENTURIES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 298
Descent of the manor to the Cliffords — Purchase of the lordships of Bolton &c. by
Henry, Earl of Cumberland The Priory raided by the Scots -Abstracts from and
remarks upon the ancient Compotus of the Priory Death of the Lady Margaret
Neville and the pomp of her funeral The Nortons and the Catholic rebellion
Notes from letters at Bolton Abbey Effects of the Dissolution Local notices ol
the Civil War — Succession of the manor The Cavendish family — Bolton Hall —
Armorial errors — Cavendish Memorial Fountain —The late Duke of Devonshire.
CHAPTER XXIV., DESCRIPTION OF THE ABBEY 311
A neglected approach to the Abbey— A Pilgrim's Cross — Beauty of the scenery— The
Poet Laureate's observations — The ruined choir — Norman sculptured stones —
"Sermons in stones" — Additions in the i3th century — The parish church —
Architectural description — The Beamsley Hall chapel --Vault for upright burials —
Sealed altar -Other relics -The tower &c. The Priors • o\ en Local discoveries
A pilgrim's statue.
12
CHAPTER XXV., MARTON: A LOXG-LOST RELIGIOUS HOUSE 323
Local references to Marton Priory — The Bolton monks' land at Marlon in Craven —
The Priory of Marton in Cleveland— Records at Bolton Abbey— Discoverit - <>n the
site of Ing-thorpe Grange— Was there a dependent cell to Bolton at Marton?—
Situation of the religious house- Old monastic orchard— Family of Baldwin
Description of Ingthorpe Grange.
CHAPTER XXVI., AROUND BEAMSLEV 327
Picturesque aspect --Local families —Manor of Beamsley The Claphams Beamsley
Hall Risphill and Gihbeter — Troubles of the Reformation Beamsley Hospital —
Ancient ferry-house —Bolton Bridge — Old Roads.
CHAPTER XXVII., ROUND ABOUT DRAUGHTON 333
Local geological phenomena -The great anticlinal, cause of the Harrogate mineral
waters Aspects at Bolton Abbey — Draughton in Domesday — Old local families
Dr. Wainman Draughton Hall — Local relics An old cotton-mill — The church and
school -Past traditions — A story of witchcraft— Close House and the Moorhouses —
Local belief in "Red Cap" —Pedigree of the Moorhouses— Local relics in possession
of the author -Families descended from the Moorhouses Dr. Moorhouse — The
('uirers of Skibeclen East Skibeden and Judge Nightingale — A crack shot
Local anecdote.
CHAPTER XXVIII., THROUGH THE WOODS TO HARDEN
TOWER ... ... 345
Unceasing charm of Bolton Woods -Wild Dowers -The Bishop of Lincoln, Archbishop
Benson and Mr. Ruskin's opinions — Andsell and Landseer at Bolton — The Rev.
Wm. Carr — Opening out the woods with pleasant paths and drives — The Rev. A.
P. Howes— Names of some old "Seats" — The "White Horse" of the Strid — Lud
Islands — Harden Tower Inventory in the time of Lady Anne Clifford — Life at
Barden Tower in the time of the "Shepherd Lord" -Abstracts of his domestic
expenses Forest lodges and river-watchers-- Local relics Barden Church.
CHAPTER XXIX., THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DESOLATION
TO SIMON SEAT 358
Posforth Gill waterfall— A great flood —Romantic gorge— Bounds of the Forest of
Barden — British evidences —An old trackway over the moor — Remains of ancient
bloomeries — In the Valley of Desolation — Deer still wild there — On the top of the
moor — Strange rocks and wild plants — Truckle Crags, old rock-shelters — Cairn of
the "Devil's Apronful" Simon Seat Curious rock phenomena — Glorious view —
Remarkable depression on the moor —Geological peculiarities — Lord's Seat —
Boundary of the Forest of Knaresbro'.
CHAPTER XXX, APPLETREWICK 365
Importance of Appletrewick before the Norman Conquest — Its ancient gallows —
Manorial history — Sale of the manor to Bolton Priory — Grant of free warren, its
meaning and significance— History after the Reformation— Old houses— Erroneous
conclusions — Court rolls of the manor — Old customs — Local families — The stocks —
Ancient mansions — The noble family of Craven — Supposed birth-place of Sir Wm.
Craven — Low Hall and the Proctors Local ancestry of Archbishop Benson —
Meaning of Appletrewick.
T3
CHAPTER XXXI., UP THE DALE TO BURSSAU 375
A lovely drive through the Forest of Harden old Forest lodges Club Nook Rustic
simplicity Drebley Prospect from Burnsall Fell Side \Voodhouse and the
Blands Ancestral connections with Lord Nelson Olti houses and families
Hartlingion- - Loral properties of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem — The
Metralle family Manorial records — Feudal obligations Some errors corrected—
Hartlington Hall, the residence of I.t.-('ol. Dawson Tin- old manor-house ami
cliapel An old inn Ancient family of Dihh Skyreholme Percival Hall and the
Low-oils A notable marriage The Inman family The gorge of Trailers Gill
Descent of Hell Hole— Geological aspects.
CHAPTER XXXII., BURNSALL 387
In the land of the Viking — Meaning of the name Burnsall Dale-names in the Sagas —
Post-Norman history — The glebe — Local monastic possessions —Bond tenure
Ouality and weight of cattle in ancient times First evidences of the occupation
of Burnsall — Revival of Christianity — Early sculptured crosses Burnsall never in
the parish of Linton — Ancient holy-wells Description of crosses Historical
inaccuracies — The medieties of the church — The ancient chapels at Rilston,
C'oniston, and Bradley — Rectors of Burnsall The church described — Eleventh
century font — Churchwardens' accounts Old customs Local pastimes — The old
Grammar School Local improvements— Pleasant scenery.
CHAPTER XXXIII., THE ANCIENT TOWNSHIP OF THORPE,
OR THORPE-SUB-MONTEM ... ... ... ... ... 403
A "Sleepy Hollow," the "birth-place of the world" — A pre-Christian burial-vault
and old bear den — The shoemakers of Thorpe — The Baily Hill, an old British
encampment — Evidences of coral-reefs — Elbolton Cave— Discovery of human and
other remains — Antiquity of the deposits Bones o( Arctic animals Subsequent
history — The hall and manor-house — Former aspects.
CHAPTER XXXIV., LINTON-IN-CRAYKN 409
Numerous Lintons -Historical errors — Local monastic possessions Traditions of an
alien Priory -Discovery of a remarkable brass crucifix — A brass seal of St. Michael
found near Bolton Abbey— Evidences of Celtic occupation— "Borrans" at Linton
— Celtic customs at Linton — Superiority of Grassington over Linton in Anglo-Saxon
times— The manor at the Conquest — The church — Architectural description — The
rectors — Notes on the registers — Pre-Reformation burials— The old rectories —
Local evidences of Anglo-Saxon and other customs— Linton Hospital — Notable
houses — Delightful scenery.
CHAPTER XXXV., AROUND THRESHFIELD 421
The sense of freedom and freshness among the Craven fells— The valley at Threshfield
-Caverns at Skirethorns and evidences of prehistoric inhabitants —Remarkable
finds — Early cultivation of land -Ancient customs — The family of Threshfield —
Local grants to Fountains Abbey— The Old Hall— Inn -Craven butter— Notable
houses Local families The park Grammar School Distinguished pupils.
CHAPTER XXXVI., CELTIC GRASSINGTON ... ... 427
Romantic scenery— Archaeological interest — Grassington an ancient "citv"
Extensive prehistoric earthworks &c. — Recent discoveries — A Celtic stronghold
Antiquity of local lead-mines — Roman conquest — Bronze and iron — Discovery of Roman
coins — The High Close encampment — Roman roads — Peculiar field-names — Celtic
traditions — Fairy Hole— Miners' superstitions -Celtic numerals— An old Roman custom.
CHAPTER XXXVII., GRASSINGTON PAST AND PRESENT ... 435
The displacement of Christianity — Grassing-ton the last strong-hold ot Celtic
independence — Extent of cultivation at the Conquest — Garsington in Oxfordshire
Manorial history — The Plumptons — The Old Hall, a notable house — Architectural
description— Ancient local families — Grassington Beacon — Meeting of Yorkshire
naturalists — A Paradise of wild-flowers — Beautiful scenery — Our Lady's Well —
Ghaistrills — Present aspects of the town — Proposed light-railway — Old customs — Local
dissent and effects of the Reformation.
CHAPTER XXXVIIL, ON THE HIGH MOORS 448
A tramp into Nidderdale — An old road — Natural history attractions — On the moors with
the late Mr. H. T. Soppitt — A search for the bear-berry — An extensive prospect —
Ancient hill-names — Discovery of a brass celt — Greenhow Hill — The highest
church in Yorkshire — Geology of Greenhow — The Bradford Waterworks tunnel.
CHAPTER XXXIX., ROMANTIC HEBDEN 453
Picturesque aspects — Name of Hebden — Thor's Well — Manorial history— The family
of Hebden — Roman Catholicism in Upper Wharfedale— A Hebden recussant —
Local improvements — Former appearance of the village — An ancient drying-kiln —
The old manor-house — Old natives — Anecdote — Some old homesteads — The church
— Romantic scenery — Ancient field-names.
CHAPTER XL., ROUND ABOUT CONISTON 459
Romantic scenery — Chapel House — :A grange and chapel of Fountains Abbey — The
Tennant family — The village of Coniston — Meaning- of Coniston — Antiquity of the
church — Its present aspects — Old houses — Prehistoric evidences — Discoveries in
Coniston Pastures — Local hill-names.
CHAPTER XLI., KILNSEY 464
Prehistoric habitations — Dowkabottom Cave — Discoveries of prehistoric animal and
human remains — Relics of prehistoric spinning and weaving — Name and meaning
of Kilnsey — Local possessions of Fountains Abbey — Grange destroyed by the
Scots — Annual sheep-shearing at Kilnsey — Rights of way for ox-wains &c. — The
old Hall and the Wade family — Lady Anne Clifford at Kilnsey — Kilnsey Crag —
Local inns — Kilnsey Angling Club.
CHAPTER XLII., KETTLEWELI 473
Remoteness from railways — Proposed line up Wharfedale — The charm of isolation —
Local inns and accommodation — The Great Scar-Limestone — Formation of terraces
Ancient "terraced reins" — Antiquity of local husbandry — Prehistoric evidences —
Scale Park Hunting- Lodge — Name of Kettlewell — Progress of agriculture —
Manorial history — Old families — The church — Wesleyan Chapel — Kettlewell
blacksmiths — Inns — Romantic scenery — Douk cave.
CHAPTER XLIII., A TRAMP THROUGH LITTONDALE 480
Local possessions of Fountain Abbey — Wild beasts and birds of prey — The eagle in
Littondale — Last record of the eagle in Wharfedale — Routes into Littondale—
Hawkswick — The Horse Head pass— Across Malham Moors — Dalesfolk and the
Transvaal War — Rainfall in Littondale — Heat and cold — Local longevity — Vicars
of Arncliffe — Botany of Littondale — Some rare wild flowers — The church at
Arncliffe — Halton Gill chapel, &c. Wild scenery.
'5
CHAPTER XLIV., UP DAM. FROM KETTLEWELL TO BUCKDEN 485
Picturesque scenery Tin- village ol Suit l>o||< mi Meaning ol (lie name A historic
Hood— Old houses at Starliottom Buckden Woods Local field-names At tin:
dale-head FiiM records ot Buckden Wild deer Manorial owners Buckdcn Hall
— Antiquity of manor-house — The family of Hucktlen — The village— Church and
\Vesleyan Chapel — The Friends Wild scenery - A haunt of the marten Cray.
CHAPTER XLV., IN WILD LANGSTROTHDALK 491
Kxtent of Buckden township— The Forest of Langstroth owned by the Percys and
Cliffords The chapelry of Hubberholme — Viking invasion — Antiquity "t
Hubberholmc Church — Description of interior An ancient n)od-loft— The Heliei-
family and the new parsonage — A walk up the dale Poor's Pasture K.xtermination
of wild animals — Lodges in the fores! of Langstroth Local possessions of Fountains
Abbey — Monastic cattle-folds — Raysgill — Keckermonds — The Lodge family
Oughtershaw and the Woodds — Local enterprise A wealth of wild )lowcr<
Discovery of coins — Romantic scenery — At the source of the Wharfe— Conclusion.
1 6
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FL'LL PAGE VIEWS.
I\ THI: LARGE PAPER EDITION ONLY.
Engraved for this work from the original
supplied by
BOLTON PRIORY, drawn by J. M. W. Frontispiece
Turner, R. A. Face page.
Burley House ... ... ... ... ... Wm. C. Maude, Bournemouth ... 147
Interior of Hubberholme Church ... .. S. Milne-Milne, Calverley ... ... 192
IN BOTH EDITIONS. FULL PAGE VIEWS.
OtleyChevln
Otley Church
Kirkgate, Otley
Ancient Crosses, Otley Church
Old Grammar School, Otley ...
Newall Old Hall . .
Farnley Hall
Ayscough Fawkes, Esq., J.P.
Interior of Farnley Hall
Swinsty Reservoir, Washburn Valley
Norman Door & Window, Leathley Church
Bramhope Hall ...
Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster
Forster Memorial Cross, Burley
Weston Church ...
I Ikley from West View
Roman Grave Slab at York ...
Brook Street, Ilkley, fifty years ago
Old Grammar School, Ilkley ...
Roman Grave Slab found at Ilkley ...
Mother Downe's Cottage, Ilkley
The Old Hall, Wheatley
Prehistoric Sculptured Stone...
Ilkley Bridge
Myddelton Lodge, near Ilkley
On the Wharfe, Bolton Woods
Tomb of Henry, first Earl of Cumberland,
Skipton Church
Bolton Hall
West Doorway, Bolton Priory
Norman Arcading, Bolton Priory ...
Ground Plan of Bolton Priory
Ancient Houses formerly at Beamsley
On the Wharfe, Bolton Woods
Bolton Priory from the Thatched Summer
House
The Strid, Bolton Woods
Harden Tower ..
Wm. Walker & Soils, Otley . . .
Do. do.
Do. do.
R. E. Gregory, Bingley
Wm. Walker & Sons, Otley. . .
Do. do.
Joseph Pollard, Ilkley
Rev. F. Faivkes, M.A., Farnley
Phineas B>iggs, Clayton
Miss Beatrice Mylne, Leeds . . .
Bradford Hist, and Antiq. Soc.
H. W. Sachs, Bradford
Wm. Walker & Sons, Otley . . .
George Hepworth, Brighouse . . .
J. Shuttlexorth, Ilkley
Bradford Hist, and Antiq. Soc.
Wm. Butterfield, Bradford ...
J. Shuttleviorth, Ilkley
Jesse Bontoft, Ilkley ...
Wm. Bnimfitt, Ilkley
Jesse Bontoft, Ilkley ...
Thos. Pawson, Bradford
J. SImttlewoi-th, Ilkley
W. Scott, Ilkley
Fred Turner, Morecambe
D. Long-bottom, Silsden
J.Jackson, Bradford ...
Yorks. Arcfaeol, Society
George Hey, Beamsley
W. Scott, Ilkley
25
40
57
62
71
I05
107
"7
132
'39
'52
162
202
i93
201
213
216
218
222
237
25 '
253
291
299
305
311
312
320
328
344
347
349
35°
Biinisall I'rom the \\Vst
Bunisall Church .. ,., ... "...
Thirteenth Centurv Sculpture, Burnsall
Church
Ancient l-'ont, Burnsall Church
I.inton Bridge and Falls
Norman Crucifix found al I.inton
Union Cliurch ...
The Old Hall < Jrassjngton
Suspension Bridge, ( ira-s Wood
The Ghaistrills, Grassington ..
Suspension Bridge, Hebclcn ...
Scala (iill Waterfall
\'ie\v in Wharfedale near Collision
Collision C'hurcli
Kettlewell from tin- west
Hubberholme Church
Oughte rshaw Hall
l-'i-id Turner, .]/,i>; i in/i/ii
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.
D. Brmonsworthi Skipton
/•'red 'I'u rner, Monniml'i
/). /! ro~^ n s-^o >'//!, Skipton
D.
Do.
, Skipton
do.
D. Brmansworth, Skipton
/•'red Turner, Moreeambe
D. BnmmsuDorth, Skipton
D,>. do.
A'<v. T. H. U'oodd,.}f.A., O
39S
397
408
410
4'5
434
443
445
45a
457
459
47^
491
497
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
A Vikinjc Warrior's .Memorial at Otley
Some t'raifiiicnts of Anglian (,'rosses at Otley
Vicinity of Otley Church Fifty Years Ago...
Norman Doorway, Otley Church
Ancient Crosses, Otley Church
Fairfax Tomb in Otley Church
Old Thatched Cottage, Otley
Dr. John Spence
Dr. Richard Garnett, C.B
Leathley Hall Two Centuries Ago ...
Leathley Church
Leathley Church Tower, Showing Angle
Buttresses ...
Old Rectory, Leathley
On Bells at Leathley Church
The Old Chapel, Bramhope ...
Burley Hall Two Centuries Ago
The Rev. Dr. Black
Thomas Maude, the Poet
Old Thatched Houses, Burley
John P. Clapham, Esq., J.P
Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax
Thomas, Lord Fairfax ...
Denton Hall, A Century Ago...
"Hercules" Stone at Ilkley ...
Font at East Haddon ...
Roman Gravestone found at Ilkley ...
Saxon Crosses, Ilkley ...
Rose and Crown Hotel, Ilkley
Church Street, Ilkley, in 1880
"Charity Hole," Old Vicarage, Ilkley
Ilkley Museum ...
Old House in Green Lane, Ilkley
View of Ilkley from Panorama Woods
The "Cow and Calf," Ilkley ...
Dr. Thos. J. Call
E. E. (,'rcyiry, Diiiffley
Do do. '
John Bro~M>i, Otlcv
E. E. Gregory, Rlngley
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.
Ilkley Hospital Committee.
IV. M. Jackson, London.
British Museum
E. E. Gregory, Ringlev
Do. do.
Rev. H. Caiiliam, Leathlev ...
J. E. Poppleton, Pontefract
Rradjord Hist, and Antiq. S<><-.
British Museum
J. If. A. Black, Stone Gappe
A'rr. A. Maude, HI.A.Jiiirffh. I\ci ton-
Mr. Biear, Burley
J. A. Clapham, Bingley
J. Slmttlev:orth, Ilkley
J. SludtleiKorth, Ilkley
Do. Do.
llklev Hospital Committee
J. .Slnittleworth, Ilkley
Joseph Pollard, Ilkley...
Ilkley Hospital Committee
37
37
5«
6i
64
76
88
oo
I 12
"4
"5
121
126
'37
'4-'
'45
'47
149
176
179
182
190
190
192
200
206
209
214
216
217
i8
Prehistoric Sculptured Stone on Green Crag
Swastika on Woodhouse Crag
Covvper Cross, Rumbalds Moor
Hollin Hall
Low Hall, Ilkley
Currer Hall
Benjamin Briggs Popplewell, Ksq
Old Wesleyan Chapel, Langbar
Seventeenth Century House, Xessfk-ld
The Late Duke of Devonshire
The Present Duke of Devonshire ...
Norman Capitals and Arcading, Bolton
Priory ...
Interior of Nave, Bolton Priory
South East Angle of Cloister Court, Bolton
Priory ...
Tower Entrance, Bolton Priory
Mason Marks at Bolton Priory
South Transept, Bolton Priory
Posforth Gill Waterfall
Summer House near Simon Seat
Summit of Simon Seat...
Reputed Birthplace of Sir Wm. Craven,
Appletrewick ...
Early Sculptured Crosses, Burnsall...
Burnsall Church in 1839
The Grammar School, Burnsall
Section of Elbolton Cave
Seal of St. Michael
A Peep in Linton Village
Bone Cave near Skirethorns ..
The Old Hall, Threshfield
Chapel House, Kilnsey
The Old Hall, Kilnsey
Kilnsey Crag
Wesleyan Chapel, Kettlevvell...
Wesleyan Chapel, Buckden ...
Hubberholme Church ...
Swarthgill, the Highest House in Wharfedale
Thos. Pawson, Rrad/nnt
J. Romilly Allen, L<>IK/<»I
/. Pollard, Ilkley
J. Shuttle-Mirth, Ilkley
J. Pollard, Ilkley
llklev Hospital Committee
\\'m. Holmes, i'h'erstuii
Do. Do.
D. Ltyngbottom, Silsdeii
W. Scott, Ilkley
I). Lonjrbottont, Silsdeii
Do. (l».
/*,". E. Gregory, Bluffier
W. Scott, Ilkley
Joseph Pollard, Ilkley
Do. do. ...
F. E. V. Stavert
Do. do.
John Vatley, C.H., Skip/on
Fred Turner, Mo recant be
T. Roose, Bolton Abbey
D. Brownsworth, Skipton
- Lister, Malham
D. Bro-&ns~<xorth, Skipton
D. Brmvnsvaorth, Skipton
J. B. Smithson, Leylntnt
Rei: T. B. Woodd, M.. l.,Oi<x/iters/iav>
234
237
243
245
25'
26 (
263
268
30?
308
3 '3
316
318
3 '9
320
359
361
362
37 1
39'
396
401
405
411
418
422
424
460
468
47°
47«
FOLDING PEDIGREES.
MAUDE of Burley in Wharfedale
CAVKXDISH, Duke of Devonshire
TKNNAXT of Bordley and Chapel House
to face page 146
,, 3°7
1C.
TIIK RAINFALL OF UPPER VV1 1.\ k l< Kl ).\ I.K.
Hv JOHN HOPKJNSON, I". R.MET.Soc., F.G.S., &c.
Upper Wharfedale has a rather copious rainfall differing- considerably in amount
in various pans of the area drained by the Wharfe. From the head of the valley
to the neighbourhood of Otley there is a decrease of about one-halt. For the twelve
years 1886-97 the mean annual rainfall at Arncliffe in Littondale, near the head
ol Wharfedale, was 58-16 inches, and the mean of two stations near Otley, viz.
Leathley and Arthington, was 29-33 inches. The mean of twelve stations in Upper
Wharfedale for this period was 37*35 inches, and if these stations be divided in three
groups of tour each, the result is as follows : — Mean rainfall from Arnclifle to Hurnsall,
43' 1 2 inches ; from Harden to Ilkley, 36-23 inches ; from Hlubberhouses to Arthington,
32*70 inches. This last amount is higher than it would otherwise have been through
the inclusion of two stations on high ground in the Washburn Valley.
The following table gives the mean and extreme annual rainfall at the
stations arranged in the same order as the Wharfe and its tributaries flow : —
twelve
Height above
Station,
Authority.
sea level.
Mean.
Min.
Mux.
Feet.
inches.
inches.
inches
Arncliffe Vicarage
Rev. W. A. Shuffrev
* 714
58-16
42"?6
68-50
Trunla Hill, (Iriniwith
]. Watson, C.F..1
t *.)~
I 2O I
-jc-eq
T O
27'2'J
JO'JJ
Grim with Res. (old gauge)..
. 890
OO 3:7
43-06
/ o
34-02
^ T^T
48-97
Thorpe Fell, Hurnsall
. 1661
35-68
23-80
4° 'Q.'i
1'pper Harden Reservoir
,,
1250
38-S5
29-91
44^7
Harden Reservoir (old gauge)
746
40-27
28-06
44 '57
C helker Reservoir
730
31*54
20 '6 1
35-44
Ilklev (fherrv Hank)
T. Robinson
600
34 • ^4
22 "35
40-87
Hlubberhouses
T. Hewson, CM-;.
575
3° '54
a6'53
45' '9
Timble, Few-ton
720
34-90
26-64
40-86
Lindlcv Wood S., Leatlilev
,,
t
3 ' -'
30-81
22-72
36 ' 1 2
Art liin irton .
1.10
28 -;6
io- -jo
.TV. TO
* Previous to 1893, Veil. Archdeacon Hoyd.
I Previous to 1890, A. R. Hinnie, C.E. ; in 1890, J. Webster, (Ml.
Arncliffe has a long record, observations having been commenced there by the
Venerable Archdeacon Boyd so long ago as 1853. In the following table is given the
mean and extreme monthly rainfall at Arncliffe Vicarage for the 40 years 1859-98.
Mean,
ins.
January 6-27
February 4-88
March 5-05
•M>ril 3'33
Mav 3-20
J»"f 3'64
Year :— Mean, 60-58 ; Min., 42-36 (1887) ; Max., 79-49 (1877)
Min..
Max,
Mean.
Mi//.
Mas.
ins.
ins.
ins.
ins.
ins.
•6 1
i ' '57
July
4-50
'59
9-64
•8 1
10-40
August
... 5-46
''93
9'52
I '00
9-89
September ...
5'37
'54
1 1*64
•6 1
7 '79
October
0-47
2 '47
'3'38
•74
6-72
November ...
6'io
1-09
'i '39
•60
6-80
December
... 6-31
1-05
12-24
20
The next table gives the same information for Barden Reservoir (old gauge) for the
10 years 1881-90 : —
Mean. Min. Max. Mean. Min. Max.
ins. ins. ins. ins. ins. his.
January 3-87 '62 7-21 July 4-17 1-53 674
February 2-70 -99 6-46 August 3-85 1-23 6-97
March 3-24 1*14 6-14 September 3*70 1-21 6-56
April 2-49 1-53 4-63 October 4-38 1-26 6-35
May 2-44 -83 3-82 November 4-48 1*85 8'86
June 2-19 -16 4*88 December 3-50 i "06 6-48
Year:— Mean, 40-98; Min., 28-06(1887); Max., 53-68(1882).
The annual rainfall at Arncliffe Vicarage for the 40 years 1859-98 was as follows:
his. ins. ins. his.
1859 55-96 1869 65-01 1879 51*37 1889 49-60
60 54-93 70 50-14 80 65-05 90 60-77
61 59-94 7i 5273 81... .. 70-77 91 61-68
62 64-05 72 79-00 82 77'2i 92 58-89
63 66-43 73 5376 83 65-53 93 54-96
64 45-78 74 64-87 84 58-82 94 68-87
65 47-26 75 58-35 85 52-80 95 53-71
66 75*97 76 61-20 86 67-79 96 58*00
67 54-68 77 79-49 87 42-36 97 68-59
68 66-70 78 58-55 88 52-69 98 68-77
1859-68 59*17 1869-78 62-31 1879-88 60-44 1889-98 60-39
The best idea of the rainfall of any district may doubtless be obtained by comparison
with that of other districts. For such comparison it will be most convenient to take
the ten years .1881-90. For this period the mean rainfall in Upper Wharfedale was
about one inch more than it was during the 12 years 1886-97, 'ne mean of eight stations
for the 12 years 1886-97 being 38-78 inches, and for the same stations for the 10 years
1881-90, 39-88. Selecting four from these which give very nearly the same mean, and
taking four representative stations in Wensleydale on the north and four in Airedale on
the south, we have the following result, showing that the rainfall in Upper Wharfedale
is rather greater than in the corresponding part oi Airedale, and considerably less than
in Wensleydale. The geological position of all these stations is on the Carboniferous
formation and below the Coal Measures, either on the Carboniferous Limestone, the
Yoredale Rocks, or the Millstone Grit.
NORTH RIDING. WEST RIDING.
Wensleydale. Upper Wharfedale. Upper Airedale.
itis. ins. itts.
Hawesjunc 64-85 Arncliffe 59*83 Malham Tarn ,S«S'34
Hardraw 46*74 Up. Barden Res 38*51 Silsden Res 30*21
Aysgarth 38*62 Chelker Res 33*"2 Bingley 32*75
Leyburn 35*46 Arthington 28-49 Weetwood Res. ... 26-90
Mean, 46-42 Mean, 39*99 Mean, 37*05
A more extended comparison may now be made. If each Riding of Yorkshire be
considered as a separate County, the West Riding, in which Wharfedale is situated, is
surrounded by the following "Counties"— East Riding, North Riding, Lancashire,
Cheshire, Derby, Nottingham, and Lincoln. The following table gives the mean
rainfall for the 10 years 1881-90 at twelve stations in the West Riding and at four in
each of the surrounding "Counties," the twelve Yorkshire stations of which the mean
lor this period is given in the preceding table being omitted in order to avoid repetition.
2 I
YORKSHIRE.
IfV.v/ /\ii/in_i,f.
i/is.
35 '65
The -e<|uence of the rainfall -tations in each group of four is downwards when in the
same river-basin, and from north to south, or west to east, when not SO,
LANCASHIRE.
ins,
Lancaster (Southfield) 40-01
Clitheroe ( I )o\\ nham Hall) 4°'44
Manchester- (Fairfield) 1S'37
Liverpool (Grove Park) 30*32
CHESHIRE,
Marple, Stockport 34 -50
Bidston Observatory, Birkenhead 28*26
Boston Minns, Cong-leton 33*89
Chester (Newton Nurseries) 28-43
DERBY.
Woodhead Station 52'O3
Buxton (Devonshire Hospital) 49'33
Matlock Bath ... 35"2O
Findern, Derby 24*3-;
NOTTINGHAM.
Nottingham (Beeston Field) 26*83
Hodsock Priory, Worksop . 24*47
Retford (M.S. & L. Ry. Co.) 22-91
Bawtry (Hesley Hall) 23'57
LINCOLN.
Brigg. (M.S. & L. Ry. Co.) 20*19
Lincoln (do.) 23'34
I lorncastle (Hemingby) 26*15
Boston (Grand Sluice) 23*11
Trunla Hill, Grimwith
Grimwith Reservoir l.S'.W
Barden Reservoir 40*98
Ilklcy (Cherry Bank) 36*91
Hareden Brook, Slaidburn 66*89
Rib-ton, Wetherby 26*07
Holbeck Water Works, Leeds ... 25*90
Wakefield (Alverthorpe Hall) 25-79
I hm ford Bridge, Penistone 48*12
Sheffield (Redmires) 40*41
' Ulley Reservoir, Rotherham 22-39
Doncaster (Magdalens) 24-25
East Riding.
York (Meteorol. Council) 24-84
Be verley (Alexandra Terr.) 25-11
Hull (Pearson Park) 25'77
Spurn Head, Patrington 19*11
North Riding.
Richmond (The Grove) 34 "°5
Guisborough (Hutton Hall) 33'°4
Whitby (Guisbro' Road) 26-19
Scarborough (West Bank) 27'4!
During the ro years 1881 to 1890 the mean annual rainfall in
Upper Wharfedale (8 stations) was 39-88 inches, in the West Riding
(20 stations) 37-35 inches, in the North Riding (8 stations) 38-30
inches • and in the East Riding (4 stations) 23-71 inches. The mean
in the seven "Counties" surrounding the West Riding was 3fjo
inches. It would thus appear that Upper Wharfedale has about
two-and-a-half inches more rain per annum than has the West Riding
generally, and eight inches and three-quarters more than the average
fall in the district by which the West Riding is surrounded. Although
the four stations for each county have been carefully selected as
representative, the number is rather too small to give a sufficiently
trustworthy average.
P.S. — The above information has been derived from returns collected by Mr. G. J.
Symons, F.R.S., and published in 'British Rainfall' the 'Monthly Meteorological
Magazine,' 'Rainfall Tables ,,f the British Islands, iN66-8o', lh. '1866-00,' and the
'Reports of the British Association'; and the monthly rainfall at Arncliffe for the year
1859 has been kindly supplied by Mr. Symons.
22
HEIGHTS OF MOUNTAINS.
Compiled chiefly from the Ordnance
Abbrev. — Y., Yorkshire; W. , Westmorland; L., Lancashire. When not
otherwise specified the summits are in Yorkshire.
Addleborough
Arant Haw (Sedbergh)
Arncliffe Clowder ...
Attermire Scar
Barbon Fell (W.)
Barkin Pike (Y. and W. )
Baugh or Bow Fell
Beamsley Beacon ...
Black Hill (Malham)
Blea Moor
Bow or Baugh Fell
Bowland Knotts
Brownsley Ridge (Pateley Moor)
Buckden Gable (Ramsden Pike)...
Burn Moor ..
Burnsall Fell
Calf (Howg-ill Fells) (Y. and W. )
Calvey (Swaledale) ...
Cam Fell
Casterton Fell (W. )
Castleberg (Settle)
Cautley Crag
Chevin Beacon (Otley)
Colm Scar
Coniston Pie
County Stone (Y., L. and W.) ...
Cracoe Fell ...
Crag- Hill (L. and VV.)
Croasdale Fell
Cush Knott ...
Deepdale Haw
Dodd Fell
Earl Seat
Elbolton
Embsay Crag
Flasby Fell (Sharp Haw) ...
Fountains Fell
Giggleswick Scars ...
Great Shunnor Fell
Great Whernside ...
Greenfield Knott
Greygarth
Hawkswick Clowder
Hawgill Pike (Dent)
Hebden Moor
Hellifield Haw
Helm Knott (Dent)
High Mark (Malham)
High Pike (Deepdale)
High Seat (Mallerstang) (W.) . . .
Howgill Fells (Calf) Y. and W.)...
Hutton Roof (W.)
Ingleborough
FEET
'564
1089
1637
1600
1794
1718
22OO
'34'
'536
'753
2 20O
I4II
'095
2302
1595
1661
222O
1599
iSQO
I20X)
709
2150
925
1580
IIOO
2150
1650
2259
1433
'959
'93°
2189
H74
1140
1 200
1150
2191
1025
235'
2310
'959
2250
1346
1825
1250
702
975
1746
1762
2328
2220
859
2373
Inglehow (Ryeloaf)
Keasdon
Kirkby Fell
Knowe Fell ...
Lady's Pillar
Lamb Hill (Croasdale Fell)
Leek Fell (L.)
Little Fell (Hawes)
Little Fell (Langstrothdale)
Little Whernside
Lovely Seat (Buttertubs Pass)
Meugher
Mickle Fell
Middleton Fell (W.)
Moughton Fell
Milker Edge
Nine Standards (Y. and W.)
Norber
Oughtershaw Side ...
Park Fell (Ingleborough)...
Parson's Pulpit (Malham)...
Pendle Hill (L.)
Penhill
Penyghent ...
Piked Haw (Malham)
Pin Haw (Elslack Moor) ...
Rise Hill, or Rysell
Rogans Seat (Swaledale) ...
Ryeloaf
Rylstone Fell
Shunnor Fell
Simon Fell (Ingleborough)
Simon Seat ( Wharfedale) . . .
Simon Seat (Howgills) (W.)
Smrarside
Snai/eholme Fell
Stag's Fell
Standard of Burn Moor ...
Stank Fell (Bolton Abbey)
Sugar Loaf (Settle)
Ten End (Hawes) ...
Thorpe Fell ...
Threshfield Moor
Water Crag ...
Weets (Malham)
Wetherfell ...
Whelpstone Crag
Whernside ...
Widdale Fell
Wild Boar Fell (W.)
Wold Fell
Yarlside(W.)
Yockenthwaite Moor
FEET
'794
1636
1788
1700
2257
'433
1756
2186
1985
1984
2213
1887
259'
'999
1402
2213
2153
!33°
1950
1836
'PS
1831
'675
2273
1400
1 200
1825
2204
1794
'45°
235 i
2125
"95
'779
1X22
1318
IOOO
I20O
1919
1661
1150
2186
1350
2015
1246
2414
2203
2323
7829
2097
2109
POPULATION TABLE.
Increase
Incfca-c
or
or
I )r<Tt-a-r
Population. from Population.
from
1891.
1871 to 1891.
1871 to
Township.
1891. Township.
[891.
A dilinirhiim
> > > -
i(iS i Karnhill 6^
16^ I
Appletrewick
— -o
JJC)
ug I) < ;.'irgT,i\ e 1296
5 i
Bamoldswick
4 ' 3 '
()44 i Glusburn . . 1942
37.1 '
Bramslry (_•)
179
30 i) < Jrassing-lon 4X0
35° l>
Holton Abbey
169
47 i Hi-bden 209
'53 u
Bradley- (Both)
54-'
^^ I Hctton 102
_>j D
Brogden
120
i ^ i Kettlfwcll-with
Broughton
'"5
•; ', 1 1 Starbottom 3 1 7
191 n
Burkdrn
21Q
04 n Kiklwick 14;
[6 D
Hurnsall
~-yy
109
t^ TJ
•in D I.inton .. i [7
()2 I)
( 'arlcti HI
1644
•.jy i
34 D Marions (Both) ... 270
-!-} I
( \ miston-with-
Salterforth 487
.}. J
OI I
l\ilnstj\
1 16
70 I) Silsden 3866
y i i
I I ?2 I
Cononley
881
1^1 '? Skipton 10376
i 13.4 i
a >o8 i
Cowling
1828
100 D Stirton-with-
n^y*5 i
Cracoe
OI
44 D Thorlbv 163
17 D
Draughton
y
204
26 I Sutton
1 / "
Embsay-with-
Tlionitoii-with-
Eastbj
940
165 D Earby 2770
7'7 i
Threshfield i m
6-7 n
HEIGHTS
OF TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND HAMLETS.
[ i..i i
FEE1
1 I 1 1
Airton
563
I cixor ... ... 600
Litton
850
Arm-liffe
... 700
Klasbv ... ... 420
Long- PIVMOII
495
Askrigg
... 726
Gargrave ... ... 358
Masongill ...
54o
Au^twick
497
Gigf^leswick . 487
Malham
637
Harbon . .
380
Gisburn ... 453
N'cwton
440
Beggarmonds
... I 100
Grassington 690
Otterburn
510
Bell Busk ...
500
1 lalton Gill ... 1000
Oughtershaw
1180
Bentham
34^
Halton \\'cvt ... 445
Rathmell
4*5
Bordley
1260
Ilawc- ... ... 802
Rylston
560
Buckden
. . . 788
Ili-llifield 468
Scdbergh
400
Burrow
150
1 lorton-in- Ribbles-
ScNidc
94-
Biirton-in-Lonsdale 298
dale ... ... 770
Settle
5°7
Calton
... 625
Hubberholme ... 800
Skipton
. . . 362
Casterton
... 280
Ingleton 437
Slaidburn
. . 488
Chapel-le-Dale
... 800
Ki'ttlcwell 730
Stackhouse
55°
Clapham
510
Kilnsey (>jS
Stainforth
658
Cowan Bridge
... 284
Kirkby Lonsdale . 200
Starbottom ...
. 748
Coniston-Cold
452
Kirkby Malhani ... 612
Thorn ton -in- Lons-
Cray
... 1070
Kirkby Stephen ... 580
dale
... 480
Dent
472
Langcliffe ... ... 623
Threshfield ...
. . . 620
Draughton ...
650
Lawkland ... ... 450
Tunstall
105
Kmbsay
6.30
I.inton ... 620 \Viggloswurth
500
HEIGHTS OF ROADS AND PASSES.
FEET
Fountains Fell, from Silverdale Head, cart-road ... ... ... ... ... 2180
Malham to Horton over Fountains Fell, foot-path ... ... ... 2050
YValdendale Head, between West Burton and Starbottom, foot-path ... ... 2000
Horse Head, between Buckden and Halton Gill, cart-road ... ... ... tQTo
Firth Fell, between Buckden and Litton, cart-road ... ... ... ... ... 1970
The Stake, between Buckden and Bainbridge, cart-road ... ... ... 183*
Buttertubs, between Hawes and Maker, cart-road ... ... ... ... ... 1682
Coverdale, between Middlehara and Kettlewell, cart-road ... ... ... ... 1625
Scar Slit, between Kettle well and Arncliffe, foot-path... . ... ... 1620
Haws End, between Hawes and Semerwater ... ... ... ... .., ... 1600
Stockdale Pass, between Settle and Malham, bridle-path ... ... ... 1550
Helwith Bridge by Dale Head to Litton ... ... ... 1512
Hawes to Ribblehead by Newby Head ... ... ... ... ... ... 1421
Settle to Litton, or Halton Gill by Rainscar ... ... ... ... .. ... 1391
Stainlbrth to Kilnsey by Malliam Tarn ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1340
Malham to Kilnsey by Lee Gate ... ... .... ... ... ... ... ... 1284
Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Beckermonds ... ... ... ... ... 1280
Settle to Kirkby Malham by High Side ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1272
The following table shews the altitude of the highest inhabited
houses, inns, villages, market-towns, and passenger-railway, in
Yorkshire and in England, respectively :
The highest inhabited house in England : FEET
Rumney's House, south of Alston, in Cumberland, on the Durham border ... 1980
The highest inhabited house in Yorkshire :
Grouse House, near the source of the Cover, in the North Riding ... ... 1700
The highest inn in England (it is in Yorkshire) :
Tan Hill, between Barras and Held, in the North Riding ... 1727
The highest village in England : ,
Colecleugh, West Allendale, Northumberland ... ... ... ... ... 1725
The highest village in Yorkshire :
Greenhow Hill, between Pateley Bridge and Grassington ... ... ... 1320
The highest market-town in England :
Buxton, in Derbyshire ; — at the Palace Hotel ... ... ... ...'... 1044
The highest market-town in Yorkshire :
Hawes, in Wensleydale ; — at the Shambles... ... ... ... ... ... 850
The highest passenger-railway in England :
The South Durham and Lancastrian Union Railway, between Barras and
Bowes, on Stainmoor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1378
The foregoing summary of a discussion on the subject was furnished by the writer
to the Leeds Mercury Supplement for April 7th, 1888. There is, however, an error in
the original table with respect to the highest inn in Yorkshire, which should be as
given above. The Cat and Fiddle on Buxton Moors, in Cheshire, is often stated to be
the highest inn in England, but it is not. Its height is 1690 feet.
UPPER WHARFEDALE.
CHAPTER I.
OTLEV AND NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PREHISTORIC TIMES.
( irneral character of Wharfedale — Its isolation, healthfulness, and surpassing scenery
— History and antiquities — Rocks and wild flowers — Early settlements in the parish
of Otley — Some British and Roman roads — Otley under the Romans — Celtic
survivals— Important discoveries — Local evidences of Roman Christianity — Holy
\\Vlls, &c. — Otley in the kingdom of Elmete — Abounding British remains — Otley
an early and important religious centre — The planting of the Cross — Historical
and other evidences — Local misconceptions — The first Yorkshire monasteries —
Dedication of churches to All Saints — Local dissent in the 7th century — Pipin's
Castle near Otley — Saxon Otley — Meaning of Otley — Local ethnology— The
inroads of the Danes — The victory of King Athelstan — His grant of Otley to the
Sec of York — The Archbishop's jurisdiction and privileges — The first church —
A dual right of sanctuary at Otley.
HARFEDALE is surely "The Queen of Yorkshire
Dales." Its transcendent natural charms and abounding
historic attractions fix you, go wherever you will. But
when you penetrate its upper reaches and climb the
great moorlands, where cradled among the lonely
recesses of the mighty Cam, the infant Wharfe peeps out on a scene
of wild, legendary fell-land, that land seems to favour more of romance
than of history, sweeping wide and far into half-visible cloud-realms,
and seeming aloof from all human ken and grip. Soon the Jittle
stream after scrambling and tumbling from his high playground is
joined by other moorland-mates and in the course of his rapid descent
becomes a very giant in his strength, wielding at times his "club of
waters " with such force and destructiveness as few English rivers can.
During his long sixty miles' journey to where he joins the placid waters
of Ouse within ten miles of the city-towers of York, his ever-widening
course gathers the runlets and rainfall of nearly 500 square miles of
field and moor and fell. Traversing in its upper length a region of
grand hills amid noble scars of terraced limestone, and in its lower a
26
rich storied vale, the entire course of the river is full of a rare charm, a
charm which in variety of scenic beauty, historic interest, and old-
world life, is not surpassed by any river-valley in the kingdom.
Remote from the common routes of traffic, it has, with the exception of
the picturesque-seated towns of Otley and Ilkley (the latter a rising
Spa), no large centres of population, and its ever-increasing popularity
as a summer sanatorium is such that few of its farm-houses and public
hostelries are without their full quota of visitors for five months in the
year. In historical and archaeological attractiveness the valley from
end to end teems with evidences and remains of the successive
occupiers of the soil, even from the icy epoch when the majestic
mountain-glacier ceased to bear its burthen of Upper Wharfedale rocks
to where the vale opens out on the great Plain of York. To the
naturalist the district from the varying character of its rock-formation,
soil, and altitude also affords an almost unrivalled field of investigation.
The neighbourhood of Otley possesses evidences of having had a
comparatively large population in the prehistoric period, even for
many centuries continuously from those dark barbaric ages when the
nomadic habits of the primitive tribes had scarcely died out, when the
caverns and rock-shelters of the hill-girt Craven dales were occupied by
a rude untutored people, ill-nurtured and ill-clad. Yet their lives
passed constantly amid a wild environment, strengthened an instinctive
passion which made them real Nature-lovers, and kept ever active a
practical sympathy for natural things. The aspects of the visible
world, both its terrors and its charms, exercised a singular influence
over them, and created beliefs that powerfully prejudiced the general
tenour of their lives. Out of the mysteries of the elements there arose
practices which lingered in the dales until quite recently ; customs, as
the saying is, " as old as the hills," can be clearly traced to their
primitive sources, no doubt having originated in the belief of some
insolvable force or subtle essence behind them, passing comprehension.
For this same poor, half-savage being, though unable to grasp the full
meaning of things, lived and died conscious of a Power superior to
himself, as his burial temples plainly shew. Daily at the door of his
rude dwelling on the sides of old Chevin would he with uplifted hands
bless the glorious sun, or at night beneath the star-lit heavens solemnly
bend himself in adoration !
That Otley and much of Wharfedale was occupied by these old
Nature worshippers* I shall hereafter testify by an examination of
local caves and other remains. The valley at that time was a vast
forest primeval, the haunt of the bear, wolf, boar, pole-cat, and other
•* Phallic worship, it may be noted, prevailed at Adel, as the discovered objects prove.
2?
;mim;ils no longer existing with us. The people made tracks through
these intricate forest-lands, and when in the course of time they had
formed thrmsrlvt-s into something like settled communities, they laid
down rude stone or even wooden causeways, constructed of logs of
unbarked trees, connecting their different encampments. From the
ancient historian Gildas we gather that the Roman legions on their
conquest of Britain in the second and third centuries AD., "repaired
those ruinate causeys laid down by the ancient Britons," and built
other new roads to all the principal towns in the island. Some of these
British trackways and Roman roads are recognisable in Wharfedale at
the present day. and there is little doubt that many of our old field-
paths (unknown in modern America) are survivals of primitive British
trackways.
Within that area which was afterwards constituted the parish of
Otley we have traces of such roads and also several ancient stone
circles and sculptured rocks (notably on Hawksworth and Burley
Moors*) as well as other remains, which are doubtless as old as the
earliest Celtic occupation of the neighbourhood. Various names, too,
and particularly that of the grand old Chevin,f which rears its mighty
crest behind the town, plainly indicate that there was a British
settlement in the vicinity, and that this at one time was included in the
great Brit- Welsh province of Strathclyde, which stretched from the
Mersey on the south through the Pennine forests of Lancashire and
Yorkshire northwards to the Cheviot Hills, a vast region inhabited by
a brave and hardy race which long defied the power of superior arms.
Otley lay between the old Brigantian cities or stations of Ilkley and
AdelJ eleven miles apart, both afterwards occupied by the Romans,
and the old Roman road, doubtless on the site of a well-trodden British
trackway, connecting the two camps passed over the Chevin to the
south of the York Gate plantation. That the district was a strong
refuge of the British is evidenced from the unusual number of
characteristic earthworks in the immediate district, splendid remains of
which may be seen in the camps at Ilkley, Addingham, Nessfield,
Bramhope, Castley, and Blubberhouses, besides numerous earthen forts
and enclosures on the moor-sides, the latter thrown up in all
probability by the startled natives on the first Roman invasion of the
district. At Burley, about two miles to the west of Otley, and within
* One of these circles is described and illustrated in the author's Old Bin^liy,
pagt- 45-
t From Gym-Celtic cef'n, a ridge of high land, like the ("hrviots between Knglaiid
and Scotland, and the Cevenm-s in France.
£ Adel, a Celtic station held by odal tenure. See Bishop Stubbs' Const. History,
i. 57, with authorities there cited.
28
the Saxon parish, there was doubtless also a Roman outpost to the
great camp at Ilkley, afterwards occupied by the Saxons, as the ancient
name Burghley appears to indicate. From the short manuscript
history of Wharfedale, written in 1807, elsewhere alluded to, I gather
that on the enclosure of the Chevin, more than a century ago, some
apparent house-steads were removed in order to turn the land over to
the plough. They were on the west part of the common called
Dibendale (Cym.-Celt. dwfn, deep), then the property of Mr. Wm.
Mounsey, of Otley. The ruins were locally known as the " Bishop's
Stables," and some of the walls were quite a yard thick. Unfortunately
we have no more definite information concerning them. A little south
of the Bradford road also on West Chevin is a field called Jack Close, at
one time "no man's land."* In the tithe-award plan I also find mention
of a Camp Close on the east side of Busk Lane on the Pool Road, not
far from Gallows Hill. Likewise on the south-east side of Maple Bank,
the residence of Mr. Wm. Dawson, is a piece of land called Munbury
Field, which seems to imply a similarly protective enclosure. The A.-S.
mujid-bora, means a bearer of protection, from the substantive mund, a
hand, a defence, help or security. In the direction of Menston we have
also a Burras Lane, and a High Burras or Barras, which I am inclined
to think is equivalent to the Barass near the Roman road over
Stainmoor, and to the " Brass Castles " near our Roman highways in
West Yorkshire.! The name may here, however, be a personal one.
The idea entertained by many writers that Otley was the
Cambodunum of the Romans may be mentioned only to be dismissed,
for the simple fact of the unnatural proximity of Otley to the great
station of Olicana (Ilkley), not six miles distant. Cambodunum is now
assigned to the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, probably Slack, \
in accordance with the distance of the different stations between
Mancunium (Manchester) and Eboractsm (York), lying along a line ot
march through Tadcaster (Calcarid). Nor is it likely the name Otho,
which appears in the Domesday name of Otley (Othelai}, proclaims a
Roman ascription, bestowed in honor of the Emperor Otho, who was
born at Rome in A.D. 32, and died in A.D, 69, or many years before the
Roman soldiery penetrated these parts. Indeed, it is not till the
advent of Agricola that we learn anything definite with respect to the
country or people in North England. The coins that have been
found at Otley are chiefly of the second and third centuries, when
the local Britons were under the Roman power and an era of peace
* See Seebohm's English Village Community, p. 6. f See Old Ringley, p. 377.
J See Yorks. Archl. Journal, vol. iv. This place must not be confounded with the
Campodunum of Bede, probably Doncaster (Danum), where Paulinus built a church in
630. See Watson's Halifax and Whitaker's Loidis and Elmete, p. 375-7.
2Q
prevailed. The fact, however, should be recorded that a rare first
brass coin of Nero (A.D. 54-68) was found in a well at Joppa, in
Leeds, and I have also mentioned the discovery of a coin of this
Emperor in the gorge of How Stean, in Upper Nidderdale,* but this,
of course, does not premise the Roman occupation of the district at
that time. In the churchyard at Otley there was found in March,
1888, a number of Roman coins, dating from the reign of Hadrian
(A.D. 117-138) to that of the savage pagan Emperor Decius, whose
short sovereignty of two and a half years (A.D. 248-50) was almost
wholly occupied in persecuting devout Christians, thousands of whom
were cruelly tortured, and even crucified, or otherwise put to death.
Singularly, these coins were found at a depth of eight feet from the
surface, and lay amongst a quantity of human bones, broken pottery,
and bits of flint and charcoal. They seem, indeed, to suggest a burial
on the site, probably in the third century, and it is noteworthy that
the same site should have been appropriated for the burial-ground
of the early Christian church adjoining. An unmortared cobble-
stone tomb, which I shall mention in the account of the church, may
possibly be of this date. Two of the carved stone crosses discovered
in the walls of the church are accounted by Dr. Waldstein, Lecturer on
Archaeology at Cambridge, to be distinctly Roman-Christian in design
and workmanship. Other Roman evidences also appear. Dr. Shaw,
of Otley, relates (1830), that he found a coin of Aurelianus (A.D.
270-5) in his garden, and that a farmer at Norwood, while ploughing,
turned up as many Roman coins as would fill a pint measure. They
ranged in date from Hadrian (A.D. 117-138)10 Constantius (who died
at York in 306), and Constantine, his prosperous son, rightly surnamed
The Great, who some say was born at York,f and died in 337. Coins
of his reign, it may be observed, bear for the first time the Christian
emblems of the dove, cross, &c.
Constantine was the ardent partisan and promoter of Christianity,
which by him was raised to the position of a State religion, and his
mother, the Empress Helena, the reputed discoverer of the true Cross,
is commemorated in the name of many holy-wells in the dales of the
West Riding. There is one at Adel, another near the camp at
Bramhope, another near Tadcaster, one at Denton, in Otley parish,
and a fifth at Burnsall ; Wharfedale being thus greatly honored by this
early Christian lady. That Christianity actually prevailed in Wharfe-
dale during the latter days of the Roman occupation, and was
continued by the Roman-British inhabitants of Elmet, I think the
* See Nidderdale and the Garden of the Nidd, p. 433.
f See Drake's Eboratum, and Gibbons' contradiction in Roman Empire.
records of the early Fathers, and the local relics already mentioned,
amply prove. From Tertullan (ca 206) we gather that the Britons
acknowledged Christ, while St. Chrysostom tells us that " churches and
altars " had been erected in Britain in the fourth century, when he
wrote, and that " men may be heard discussing different points of
Scripture in different languages, but not with different belief," and
again, St. Jerome tells us that three British bishops, namely, of York,
London, and probably Lincoln, were represented at the Council of
Aries in A.D. 314, and that British bishops took part in the Council
of Sardica in A.D. 347. Perhaps the scarcity of contemporary Christian
relics in these parts of Yorkshire may be owing to the repeated
subsequent supremacy of the pagans, who no doubt destroyed every
tangible object of the faith.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Romans withdrew
from Britain in the year 418, and our knowledge of events in this part
of Yorkshire for the next two centuries is somewhat obscure. We
know that the district was harassed by invasions of the Picts and Scots,
and that the heathen Angles and Saxons had swarmed into the
country, and that for a long period there was a terrible warfare
between them and the native Britons?* The latter had become
possessed of improved methods ot resistance, learned from the Latins,
and falling back upon their old camps and trenches, managed for a
time to keep the foeman at bay. Sometimes, however, as contem-
porary chroniclers tell us, they " fled from the Angles like fire," and
betook themselves to the woody fastnesses and marsh-protected hills
and moors of Craven, where they remained and dwelt in comparative
security. There can now be little doubt that Otley and the whole of
Wharfedale, with the moors between the Wharfe and Aire, were
included in the undefined British kingdom of Elmet, or Elmete, which
maintained its independence against the Anglian usurpers for more
than 100 years. The abounding British place-names in this territory,
and the very prolific character of coeval remains in the shape of camps,
dikes, enclosures, and other earthworks, together with tumuli, marked
stones, weapons of stone and flint, and various ornaments and imple-
ments of warfare and the chase, present strong evidence to support
this. Extending from its supposed frontier stations of Sherburn-in-
Elmet, and Barwick-in-Elmet,t where are vast earthworks, it included
the land northwards and westwards towards Adel, and the north of
Leeds, where is a large camp, &c., on Woodhouse Moor, and thence
* On the east side of Otley, near the river, is some land called Elam, which, if not
derived from the A.-S. hie (high), and lam (mud, clay), may signify the A.-S. call
(foreign), and ham (a home), a term applied by the later conquerors to their British
predecessors. There is an Elam near Keighley in a similar position, near the river Aire.
31
by Horsforth, with its ancient Elf Knowle, Rawdon, where a British
ton of gold was found on the Billing, Yeadon, with its primitive
remains, Baildon, with its numerous Brit-Welsh tumuli, &c., and the
great extent ot Rumbalds Moor to Skipton, and even along the high
ground to Grassington and the entrenchments near Kettlewell, which
all help to mark out this territory as one of pre-eminently archaeologu al
interest, and in the richness and variety of its British remains it is
probably unrivalled by any similar extent of country in England.
This province of Elmet was annexed to Northumbria by Edwin,
its king, who was baptised in the faith of the Christians according to
Bede, on Easter Day, 627, in the Church of St. Peter the Apostle, at
York, which he himself had built of timber. The probability is that
the British Christians of Elmet would long ago have given themselves
up to the adjoining kingdom of Deira, which with Bernicia afterwards
formed the kingdom of Northumbria, had that kingdom acknowledged
the true God, but they were loth to fall into the power of the heathen.
The conversion of Edwin gave a fit opportunity for the amalgamation,
and thus it is we learn from Nennius that the British king was
" expelled " or abdicated in his favour, not that any battle was fought,
but that Edwin, who was corrfptete master of all the country between
the Humber and the Tyne, quietly acceded to the old Christian
territory of Elmet. The absence of heathen place-names in this
territory seems to confirm this.
This happy state of things however did not last long, for in the
year 633, Edwin the Good after reigning 17 years was slain by the
heathen Penda, aided as he undoubtedly was by Cadwalla, King of
the "Christian Britons, at the battle of Heathfield, or Hatfield Chase,
and the Saxon Christians had to flee for their lives. Paulinus, the great
Roman missionary, left the country with Edwin's widow and went back
to her home in Kent, having indeed done much preaching in the north,
but established no church, nor altar, nor cross. He afterwards became
f In a single deed of A.D. 1361, cited by Dodsworth, South Kirkby, 7 miles east of
Barnsley, is described as Kirkby-in-Elmet, from which circumstance it would be rash
to .-ay positively that this place was included in the old British province of Elim
places of this name, or compounded with it, as El-met, El-meten, El-land, &c., are
scattered throughout England, and doubtless have the same significance. Inasmuch as
I consider the name explained by the custom of the Saxons, as of most primitive
peoples, to designate those who were estranged from them as foreigners, and in this
-case we must interpret Elmete as a derivative from the A.-S. el, foreign, and mete,
bounds, that is, the mete or bounds of the stranger or foreigner. Thoresby and his
followers are unfortunate in the derivation of this name from a supposed abundance
ol elm trees in the Wood of Elmet. This territory was overgrown principally with ash
and oak, especially the latter, which was religiously preserved and cultivated lor the
sake of the mast it yielded for fattening hogs, and also as food for the people in times
of scarcity.
32
Bishop of Rochester and died in 644. For a year Northumbria was
again divided into its rival factions of Deira and Bernicia, but by the
death of Edwin the British Christians were actually in possession of all
Northumbria, which was then governed for nearly two years by a King
who represented the ancient Christianity of the British Church. He
was, however, himself a Briton, and opposed to a violent Saxon
faction, who whilst approving his Christianity did not support his
sovereignty. In 635 he was overthrown, not on religious grounds, but
on political, by the Saxon St. Oswald, who thereupon succeeded to the
conjoined kingdom, and during his reign the great northern see of
Lindisfarne, the parent of nearly all the churches from the Humber to
the Tweed, was established.* Oswald was slain in battle by the
heathens in 642, and there was some years of strife, but in 655 the
great pagan King Penda was slain at Winwidfeld (said to be Whin-
moor, near Leeds), and Mercia, together with all Northumbria, once
more and ever afterwards embraced the Christian religion. This famous
battle, in all probability fought on old Christian territory gave a great
impetus to the faith in Yorkshire and the north ; and twelve monasteries,
each upheld by ten families, were founded in Northumbria to com-
memorate the event. One of these was on the Wharfe, at Collingham,
where the church is dedicated to St. Oswald. Only two other
Wharfedale churches, it may be noted, bear dedications to the Scotic
Saxon Saint, namely, Guiseley and Arncliffe, though it is not unlikely
Leathley church was dedicated to St. Oswald, but the ascription is
now lost.
One important fact, which has not before been pointed out, is that
very few of the churches in the Celtic Christian territory of Elmete, in
which Otley was situated, have retained in their dedications the names
of the old Saxon promoters of Christianity. Nearly all the principal
and most ancient churches, that arose out of the Saxon parishes, such
as Sherburn-in-Elmet, Barwick-in-Elmet, Thorp-Arch, Bardsey, Hare-
wood, Bramham, Spofforth, Kirkby Overblow, Otley, Ilkley, Bingley,
and Broughton-in-Craven, are all dedicated to All Saints. And this,
though some of the original dedications may be lost, it is well to
remember, is an early Saxon dedication, and should be borne in mind
in any estimate of the early Romish influence in this district.
The influence of the see of Lindisfarne, the direct fruit of the
teaching of Columba in lona, had made itself felt throughout the
present Yorkshire, and the Celtic priesthood had obtained a firm
footing almost everywhere. Their cult, says Raine, was all-prevalent
* The diocese of Lindisfarne covered pretty nearly the whole of the Northumbrian
kingdom, as well as Staffordshire, Cheshire, and part of Shropshire.
33
in this country, Kent alone owing its Christianity to the Roman
missionaries.* It is therefore not surprising that when the Synod
of Whitby abolished the system of the Celts in 664, there was a
considerable dissension among the Britons, who preferred to isolate
themselves and follow their accustomed rule rather than obey the
Roman Catholic decree, especially as it affected the celebration of
Easter. The Abbess Hilda,, who had been ordained by the Scots,
expressed her strong sympathy with the opposition of the British
priests, though she afterwards conformed to the Papal decree, and
remained at Whitby till her death in 680. St. Heiv, too, the first
woman in Northumbria who took upon her the habit and life of a
nun, was reared in the Celtic belief, and founded the monastery at
Hartlepool, but coming into Yorkshire she established a monastery at
or near Tadcaster, possibly at Healaugh, and doubtless, like Hilda,
erected several cells to the parent house, one of which, in all probability,
was at Bingley, where, in a retired part of the parish, the site has been
known from time immemorial as St. Heiv's (St. Ives).f The Celtic
monastery at Ripon, which had been founded by King Oswy shortly
before the Synod of Whitby in 664, was afterwards handed over to
Wilfrid, because he had adduced such evidence in favour of the Roman
Catholic usage that the King and court were persuaded ; for, said
Wilfrid, " we found the same practised in Italy and France, in Africa,
Asia, Egypt, and Greece, and all the world, wherever the church of
Christ is spread abroad through several nations and tongues at one
and the same time; except only these and their accomplices in
obstinacy, I mean the Picts and the Britons, who foolishly, in these two
remote islands of the world, and only in part even of them, oppose all
the rest of the universe.''^
Thus we find even at this remote period religious dissent had got
a firm hold en the people of the West Riding of Yorkshire, which their
vigorous independence has retained to this day. Bede tells us that the
Catholic institutions daily gained strength; yet in 731, or nearly
seventy years after the adoption ot the Roman usage, the Britons were
still perverse, and " wrongfully and from wicked custom oppose the
appointed Easter of the whole Catholic Church ; " otherwise he says
they are under subjection to the English.^ It is difficult to reconcile
these facts with the statement of Father Haigh that Eadberht, King of
Northumbria (738 to 757), after the capture of Dumbarton from the
Strathclyde Britons, came into Yorkshire with Angus, King of the
* Preface to Lives of the Arclibishaps of York. (Rolls Ser.)
f See the author's Old Bingley. £ Bede, Eccl. Hist., Book ii., c. xxv.
§ Ib.. Book iii., c. xxviii., and v., c. xxiii.
fc-jLA$cAv- v
^t4 <&
34
Picts, and in the vicinity of Bingley engaged in battle with the Britons,
with whom he afterwards ratified a treaty which he believes to be
recorded on the Rune stone in Bingley Church.* The evidence really
points to the fact that the Britons of Airedale and Wharfedale, though
Christian dissenters, were at this time already subject to the Anglo-
Saxons, and in a civil sense were at peace with them. Indeed they
gloried in the successes of Eadberht, himselt a wise governor and a
devout Christian, who afterwards, in 757, was shorn and entered his
brother's monastery at York, where both of them are buried. We are
told that the fame of his excellence and of his valour spread far and
wide, and that Pipin, King of France, sent emissaries to him laden with
splendid gifts. It is not improbable that the traditional site known as
Pipin's Castle, on the verge of the original parish of Otley, may have
something to do with commemorating these events. There is a
tradition that the early Kings of Northumbria, from the annexation of
Elmete by Edwin, about 630, resided at Barwick-in-Elmet, where the
extensive artificial mound, or burh, adjoining the supposed British
entrenchments was thrown up by the Anglo-Saxon rulers, and held by
them for an indefinite period. It is known by the name of Hall Tower
Hill. Dr. Shaw expresses a belief that Edwin, the Northumbrian
king, had a temporary residence at Otley, but of this there is no
proper evidence.
It was doubtless during this period that Otley was first colonised
by the Angles (not unlikely within the extensive fosse of the old
Norman Manor House), and received its name of Othelai, or Otelai (as
variously spelled in Domesday),! most probably from the chief of the
family. Some writers, however, have supposed the name to be derived
from the oat-fields, for which the district was once famous. On the same
basis one might conclude that the neighbouring townships of Burley
and Wheatley were called after certain barley and wheat fields, thougrT
bere is Anglo-Saxon for barley,! while ata (pron. ota) is oat, and hwceta
is wheat, and these versions at any rate of oat and wheat render such
assumption plausible. But the district is essentially Saxon in its
language and laws, with traces of the Celt surviving in the customs
of the manor.
The year 793 witnessed the first recorded invasion of Northumbria
by the heathen Danes, who destroyed the church at Lindisfarne, and
* See the author's Old Bingley, p. 60-1.
f Observe the Saxon th retained in the first spelling', a very unusual occurrence
in Norman writing's. There is an Otley, a parish town in Suffolk.
% Burley in Domesday is Burgelei, undoubtedly named from some fort or
enclosure.
35
the monastery at Monk Wearmouth, but they do not appear to have
penetrated tar into Vorkshire until the s;ivage attack on York in 867,
when thrv began to spread themselves over the country, burning,
plundering, and wasting villages and the cultivated lands on all sides.
Not a minster or holy place was left standing, and saving in name the
Christian church in Yorkshire did not exist. There is a very interesting
memorial of this period in Otley Church, which has been mistaken to
commemorate a Roman standard-bearer, but it is unmistakably a
memorial portrait of some Christian Viking warrior whose valour in
conquest has earned for him an honorable sepulchre at Otley. The
stone, which appears to have been burnt, measures 1 1 inches at its
greatest length, is 8 inches wide at the bottom, 7 inches wide at the
top, and 2^ inches thick. An engraving of it is on the next page,
together with another view of the same, shewing the debased scroll-
pattern on the edge, and also some fragments of the exquisite art of
St. Wilfrid's time. Upon this "warrior-stone" Mr. W. G. Collingwood,
the well-known authority on early sculptured crosses, writes to me as
follows : —
I find your Otley stone (of which you sent me a photograph) bears a close
rcM-mblanrr to the Scandinavian figures in Westmorland and Teesdale. Its costume
is like that of the (Josforth cross, with the usual kirtle and belt, but its treatment is
quite different. Still more different is it to the flowing draperies of Anglian saints on
Hedda's tomb at Peterborough, or on the Kuthwell cross. When we look at the edges
of the stone we find other reason for the .same conclusion. The Anglian scroll, done
cheaply, became that of the Leeds cross ; done not only cheaply but without feeling, it
degenerates into a coarse rolled cord, like this on your Otley fragment. The inter-
lacing, losing all intellectual and naturalistic intention, becomes what we have here,
and what we see elsewhere, not rejuvinated into Norse dragons, but degenerate and
associated with the decadence of Anglian art under Danish influence.
These old Viking warriors made sad havoc of our district, but in
937 Athelstan "the glorious" obtained a great victory over the
combined armies of the Danes and Scots at the celebrated battle of
Brunanburh,* after which they confirmed the peace by pledge and
by oaths, and according to the Saxon Chronicle, renounced all idolatry.
This decisive encounter raised Athelstan high in the estimation of his
countrymen, as well as in the opinion of many foreign potentates, the
most powerful of whom was Otho, who succeeded to the throne of the
Roman Empire in 938, and amid great rejoicings took to wife King
Athelstan's sister, Elgiva.
It is at this period that we obtain definite written information
respecting Otley and the surrounding neighbourhood. Athelstan, who
attributed his successes to the interposition of divine favour, had made
* Near Dunbar, according to Syrneon, of Durham. ,SVv lvalue's York
'/'owns series), p. 37; also Sir Jas. H. Ramsay's Foundations <if England (1898), ix.,
284 n. 285-6, with plan of earthworks, shewing Bourne in Lincolnshire to be the site.
A VIKING WARRIOR'S MEMORIAL AT OTLEY.
SOME FRAGMENTS OF ANGLIAN CROSSES AT OTLEY.
37
a vow that in the event of the overthrow of the pagans he would most
liberally endow the three ancient churches of JVork, Beverley, and
Ripon. Having, as stated above, achieved the success wished for, he
proceeded to confer lands and privileges on these struggling centres of
religion in a manner and with a liberality never previously heard of.
The cause of Christ then truly prospered. To the cathedral church at
York, over which Wulstan, i6th Archbishop, then presided, he gave
the rich lordship of Sherburn (in Ehnet), likewise the Archbishop
received the manors of Cawood, Wistow, and Otley, together with the
whole of the villages and territory which at that time belonged to them.
By this grant the three last-mentioned places were formed into a
particular legal jurisdiction, over which the Archbishops, as hereditary
lords, civil as well as spiritual, exercised full control. Many and
various were the powers and privileges they enjoyed, including free
warren, sac and soc (or the privilege of determining causes, levying
fines, &c., within their precincts),* toll, team (the right of holding an
inquest as to the title to goods),! infangtheof (or the right to judge and
execute thieves), assize of bread and ale, merchet and lecherwite
(customs of a barbarous age), lands free and quit from all suit and
exaction, with return of writs and pleas, &c. This extensive franchise
was termed the Liberty of Cawood, Wistow and Otley, whose churches
possessed the right of sanctuary,! as also appertained to the similarly
enfranchised domains of Ripon and Beverley, the limits of which were
defined by stone crosses.§ But Otley was a locum privtleipatum, not
only offering sanctuary within the walls of the church, but the
Archbishop in person, before the Conquest, when in residence had the
power of granting protection in the same manner. The Archbishops
had also halls or palaces, where they occasionally resided, as well as
court-houses, prisons, and justices at Sherburn, Cawood, Otley, Ripon,
and Beverley. About these we shall learn more presently.
* An expressed grant of sac and soc, so general after the Conquest, should in the
reign of Athelstan be received with caution. See Earle, iMiid Charters, xxiii.
f See Lams of Athelstan (Schmid) ii. c. ix.
$ The right of sanctury belonged, not only to the fabric of the church, but also, by
the laws of Athelstan (A.D. 924-30), to men of position, and invariably to the
Archbishop. The laws of vEthelred (ca A.D. 1000) mention the different degrees of
churches and the protection even in some cases afforded by the village ale-house.
See also Pollock and Maitland's Hist. I'- tiff. f.ir^'. ii., 590.
$ Two charters of Athelstan's grant to Ripon are printed in the Monaxticoti, and
also in the Mi-mot iuls of Kiftau. I may further point out that the rhyming charter of
Athelstan, though evidently a fourteenth century version of a genuine original, is
an interesting survival of the ancient Aryan method ot transmitting events and
traditions in a metrical form to facilitate remembrance. The practice is still in
vogue among the Hindoos and other primitive nations.
CHAPTER II.
RECORDS OF THE PARISH OF OTLEY FROM THE NORMAN
CONQUEST.
Settlement and extent of the Norman parish of Otley — The feudal manor, how worked
— Township areas — Guiseley and the origin of its parish — Baildon and Bramhope
in Domesday — The extinct wapentake of Gereburg-, its origin and purpose — Claro
wapentake and the Curia Regis — The origin of lordships — The gallows at Otley —
Hanging a bellman — Citation of local executions — Rewards for felling thieves-
Warrant against the Archibishop— Unpublished market-charter for Otley — Local
errors — Ancient laws of sale and barter— Markets held in the nave of the church —
A picturesque Otley fair-day — The monks of Bolton, Arthington, &c., attend the
fairs— The Archibishop's manor-hall and court at Otley —Ancient burgage tenure —
How Otley was anciently represented in Parliament — Local monastic possessions -
Foundation of a leper's hospital at Otley — The building of Otley bridge — Otley in
the 141)1 century — Abbot of Selby at Otley and local inns — The "Shepherd" Lord
Clifford at Otley after the battle of Flodden— A i6th century Otley muster-roll —
Otley during the Civil War — Menston Old Hall — Local events, Extracts from the
Registers— The ryth century hearth-tax— Otley and the 1715 and 1745 rebellions.
]HE twenty -fourth Archbishop of York was Aldred
(1061-69), who was the ninth lord of Otley from^he
creation of the Liberty by Athelstan. He it was who
crowned the Conqueror at Westminster Jn_ 1066^. and
when the new feudal survey was made some twenty
years later, Archbishop Thomas, formerly canon of Bayeux, was lord
of the manor. This is how it is described before A.D. 1086, when the
facts were first collected :
In Othelai (Otley) with these berewicks, Stube (Stubham) Middletune (Middleton)
Dentune (Denton) Cliftun (Clifton) Bichertun (see page 40) Fernelai (FarnleyJ Timbe*
(Little Timblc) Kctoiie (Weston) Pouele (Poole) Gisele (GuisHey) Henochesuuorde
(Hawksworth) another Henochesuuorde (Upper Esholt or Hawksworth Mill) Beldoiu-
(Baildon) Mersintone (Menston) Burghelai (Burley) Ilecliue (Ilkley).
* A name that has puzzled many writers. Thoresby suggests Temple, from the
Knight's Templars (but the Order was not then established), though I think there can
be little doubt it comes from the A.-S. Timber, the first buildings being probably of
wood, yet in Domesday as well as in the Great Roll of the Exchequer for i ith Henry II.
(1164), an interesting reference by the way, which Mr. Grainge'in his Histoty of
Timble has overlooked, great Timble is spelled with the final I, which suggests the
A.-S. temple, a temple of idols, an enclosure sacred to the gods. The famous
Almes Cliff, a heathen temple, is not far away, and according to Shaw's Celtic
Dictionary, this name is derived from al, a cliff, and mias, an altar.
39
In all, there an- sixty carucates and six bovatcs lor geld, in which ihcrc may he
thirty-live ploughs. Archbishop Kldred had this I'm- OIK- manor-. Now Archbishop
Thomas has in the demesne two ploughs and MX villanes, and ten bordars having live
ploughs; and there are live soUemen having lour villanes and nine bordars with live
ploughs. A church and a priest with one villane and one plough. l-'our acn •> ot
meadow. \V(io(l pasture, two letiga- anil three quaranteens in length and as much in
breadth. I'nderwood, nine leuga> in length and as much in breadth. Arable land,
two leut^.i- in length and two in breadth. Moor, two U-ug;i> in length and one in
breadth ; the greatest part of this manor is waste. Value in King Kdward's time ten
pounds ; now three pounds.
In the Recapitulation of the same Norman inquest, or re-adjustment
of particulars collected before 1086, a very difficult task which must
have taken a considerable time to complete, we find :
Item, in Gcrcbnrg Wapenf. There are these berewicks in Otelai (Otley) Stube
(Stubham) Fernelie (Farnley) Mideltun (Middleton) Timbe (Little Timble) Dentun
(Denton) Estonc (part ot Weston) C'liltun (Clifton) Bichertun (see page 40). Among
the whole twenty earucates. The Archbishop has these.
The manor of Otley therefore included at the time of the Norman
Conquest all the places and territory on the south side of Wharfe, in
Skyrack wapentake, from Pool on the east to a part of Ilkley on the
west, and from the boundaries of the parishes of Bradford and Bingley
on the south (including Guiseley, Hawksworth, and Baildon), while on
the north side of Wharfe, now in the division of Claro, but described
in the Recapitulation as within the now extinct wapentake of Gereburg,
it extended from Farnley eastwards to Middleton westwards, excluding
Askwith and part of Weston, and northwards to Little Timble and the
bounds of the Honor and Forest of Knaresbro'. As little alteration,
if any, has taken place in the township boundaries, it will be useful to
tabulate the places within the old Domesday parish of Otley, with their
respective areas in acres, as follows :
Otley 2233 Menston 1076
Farnley 1844 Pool 885
Lindley r499 Guiseley* T525
Newhall with Baildon 2606
Clifton 1478 Weston (part of)
Little Timble 420 Middleton ^763
Denton 310° Ilkley (part of)
Burley 3T33 Bickerton (unknown -
Esholt (part of) — Hawksworth 2462
There is thus a known area of 25,024 acres, and an indefinite area
* Horsforth, Rawdon, Carlton, and Yeadon, within the old parish of Guiseley, are
separately surveyed.
40
in Esholt, Weston, and Ilkley, while the hamlet or village of Bickerton,
apparently destroyed or lost at some subsequent period, cannot be
identified.! The probability is the total area of the Saxon manor
would not fall far short of 30,000 acres, or roughly forty-seven square
miles, a very large portion of which, as stated in the Norman survey,
was then waste ; most of the people having died or fled, and very few
were left to till the land. But in the Saxon era it must have been in a
high state of cultivation, and judging by the number of carucates and
ploughs, the bulk of the manor was worked on the ancient three-field
system, with a three-year rotation of crops, and contained an annual
workable area of not less than 7,000 acres. Afterwards as tillage
improved, the system of two crops and a fallow prevailed in this
district, though the proportion of grass and arable has fluctuated to
some extent in late times. In 1797 for example, in a computed area
of 2,291 acres within the township of Otley, there were 2,045 acr^s in
grass, and 246 acres arable, the latter included 34 of wheat, 122 oats,
13 barley, 9 beans, while 68 acres were fallow. At Farnley consider-
ably more than half the township was arable land. There was also a
common of nearly 500 acres held by Mr. Fawkes, which was gradually
being improved by him by partial enclosures and ploughing.
It will be noticed that there was a church and endowed priest at
Otley, he being taxed for the proportion of land specially allotted for
his subsistence; there were also churches at Ilkley (a parish that now
embraces Middleton on the opposite side of Wharfe) and Weston, but
not within the Archbishop's jurisdiction. Guiseley, which was then
within the manor of Otley, was a mere cluster of timber and thatched
dwellings (ancient timber being still in evidence in the interior
construction of the Parish Church), and its parish does not appear to
have been formed, nor its Church built, until after the Norman settle-
ment, probably through the munificence of the Wards. Perhaps like
other outlying places in the parish, too inconveniently remote from the
mother Church, it had a small chapel-of-ease, or originally even only a
stone cross, erected in accordance with the practice of the times, visited
by the Otley priest, where he " preached and celebrated." But as
several churches in this neighbourhood are mentioned in the Domesday
testimony, no reference is made to a church at Guiseley which induces
the belief that there was nothing but a preaching-cross here until the
formation of the parish in the middle of the i2th century. Also the
state of the country at this time, with its comparatively sparse
f In 1247 Archbishop Gray instituted Th. de Cantilup, clerk to the church at
Bychton, at the presentation of Dame Agatha Trussebut. There is a Bickerton in
Bilton parish, 3^ miles east of Wetherby.
o
I
c
33
O
I
population, persuades me that it allowed only for the maintenance of a
single priest.*
The parish of Otley was not formed, as at Ilkley, out of the
territorium of the Romans, for as Professor Freeman points out the
Anglo-Saxons on their conquest of Britain did not as a rule at once
occupy a Roman or British town, but preferred a settlement of their
own especially where the land lent itself to convenient cultivation.
There is consequently little doubt that Otley was colonised by the
Kn^lish much earlier than Ilkley, though with regard to this ascription,
the A..-S. ftvast-scyre, priest's share, or parish, was based on a pre-existing
township that recognised, as we often find, old British boundaries or
tribal claims, at any rate in the direction of Ilkley, where the population
was largely Celtic and in the exercise of its ancient customs.!
Baildon it should be observed was entered in the Survey as in two
holdings (perhaps High and Low Baildon), one of which was within
De Burun's soke of Bingley, and the other a berewick within the
Archbishop's manor of Otley ; the first soon lost and perhaps explained
by De Burun's forfeiture of the lordship of Bingley before the comple-
tion of the survey,} though the whole of Baildon was not acquired by
* The stone cross, dedicated at Guiseley to the memory of St. Oswald (though
made probably two centuries later), often led to the erection of a church on the site
dedicated to the same Saint. The Standard of St. Oswald (which was in existence
in Bedt-'s time) was a cross of wood, and was borne before him in his marches
against the pagans, and which he planted with his own hands before the battle
began. (See p. 32.) The Guiseley cross bears an interlaced cord pattern on the
shaft and on the head is the device of a twisted dragon, in allusion probably to the
Apochryphal Gospel of the Nativity, — "Beasts and dragons knew the Saviour of the
world in the desert, and came and worshipped Him." The Church is an interesting
epitome of the several early styles of ecclesiastical architecture, mingled with some
execrable modern incongruities. The south entrance and piers of the nave are late
Norman. There is an Early English chancel, with a curious low-side window in the
north wall, which has been continued through to the outside, where until lately, was a
recessed kneeling-stone, much worn, commanding a view of the altar. Inside the
aperture has been closed with a shutter. The south transept has been a chantry-chapel
dedicated to Our Lady, and contains some interesting 131)1 century half-timber work
on the north side. It has three Early English lancets in the east wall, and a Decorated
piscina and window in the south wall. The tower is somewhat later. In the church-
yard is an excellent example of an Early English tomb-slab having characteristic
dog-tooth ornament (ca 1220) which ought to be placed inside the Church.
| S<-t- the introduction to the Census Report (1851) on the "Ancient Kingdoms and
Provinces of England and Wales, and Scotland;" also D. H. Haigh's "Anglo-Saxon
Conquest" wherein he connects the A.-S. Octarchy with the Roman Province of Great
Britain.
J A communion of feeling probably subsisted between the Domesday lords of
Bingley and Otley, for Archbishop Thomas, the first Norman lord of Otley, came from
the Cathedral of Bayeux, which belonged the honor of Evrecy, near Caen, in which
province is situated the vil of Burun that gave name to the subsequent lord of Bingley
and was the prim urn stamen of the noble house of Byron.
42
the Archbishops till about A.D. 1220.* Bramhope on the other hand,
which was merged in the parish of Otley, appears in the Domesday
record as the property of the Norman Giselbert Tyson, who permitted
Ulchil the former owner to continue as his tenant. Bramhope however
never came within the Archbishops' jurisdiction, which embraced all the
townships of the manor including Guiseley.
There was a tract cut off from Otley and the wapentake of Skyrack
by the Wharfe that is mentioned only in the Recapitulation, above
cited, as parcel of the manor belonging to the Archbishops included in
the wapentake of Gereburg. This name and jurisdiction are now lost
(being merged in Claro), but it must have included an area of little less
than twenty square miles. Doubtless this particular territory main-
tained a number of families recognizing a common kinship, a gemana,
bound to each other by ties of law and inheritance. As most of the
hundreds and wapentakes were not named after their townships but for
other valid reasons, such as from some properly authorised spot or place
of meeting, as in Osgoldcross, Buckcross, Skyrack, Tickhill and Claro,
it may be well to consider how far such names illustrate political unity
within their particular jurisdictions. For the present, dealing with a
definite area as the manor of Otley is revealed to us — yet the Norman
"manor" by the way is but a legal fiction based on a divisional system
going back to the oldest proprietary interest in land, — I will confine
myself to the district of Claro and its banished member, Gereburg, in
which that portion of the manor of Otley lying on the north side of the
Wharfe was situated. It must be remembered that over and above the
agricultural rights of the primitive village assembly all interest in local
government was centred in the hundred or wapentake courts as we find
the same term expressed in those of the northern counties principally
settled by the Norse. Dr. Wilkins, in his Glossary upon the Anglo-
Saxon laws derives " wagentake " from weapan arma and teacan docere,
as the district where a given number of persons in each county were
accustomed to meet and train themselves in the use of arms.f There
can however be little doubt that these judicial areas arose from a given
number of families uniting themselves in one common interest for the
maintenance of life and property, of law and discipline. Doubtless
the motive, as we gather from Tacitus, was originally military as well
as civil. In course of time these self-constituted village tribunes were
* Mr. W. Paley Baildon, F.S.A., informs me that the two moities of Baildon were
owned by the De Lelays, or Leathleys, in the i2th century, both of which they
conveyed at separate times to the See of York, the last, as stated above, about 1220.
The two charters are in the Cotton MSS.
f Wilkin's Leg. Ang.-Sax., p. 117.
43
gradually encroached upon by the lords or heads of clans arrogating to
themselves many of the duties and much of the prerogative belonging
to them, which [in-pared the \vay for the Norman system of tenure in
capHe. By thr time of Athelstan every man under a federation was
bound to find a lord. It is thus we hear of the hall of the chief and the
seat cf justice, or capital station of the manor or hundred. In the
name Claro, anciently Clare-how, I have no doubt there lurks such a
meaning, for clere (pron. dare) is an Anglo-Norman word signifying a
myal or episcopal seat, or chief place of judicature,* and it is very
likely that customary meetings continued to be held here as late as the
reign of Henry I (1100-35), as that monarch in order to oppose his
Norman barons and curry favor with the populace, restored these old
English courts. They were in fact the Curia Regts, the court of the
King's vassals, which grew out of the Saxon Witenagemote, and
attended at first by all the King's tenants in capite, and afterwards by
the superior lords only, ultimately led to the principle of hereditary
legislation in the House of Lords. Yet a notable exception to the
principle of hereditary right is afforded by the fact of the presence of
the Bishops in the House of Lords from the earliest times, being the
actual representatives of the general body of the people, as prescribed
by the laws of Edward the Confessor. Therefore, I contend, we have
in the how\ or hill, near Allerton Mauleverer — still known as Claro
Hill — not a mere inert antiquity, but a place whose very name is still
voiceful of the busy past, being the scene of the Anglo Saxon gemot
and Norman Curia Regis,\ or place of assembly of the chief lord or
governor of the wapentake.
Gereburg seems to have a similar meaning, being the burg, or hill
where the decrees passed by the wapentake Court of Claro were
proclaimed annually, just as they are now by the Isle of Man House of
Keys on the Tynwald Hill every 5th of July.§
The word gear is simply A.-S. for year, and gearlic is yearly,
though with regard to the term burg in a judicial sense, it is possible
that Savigny is right when he states that among the Franks and
Lombards there were monthly courts attended by all the freemen who
collectively are styled a rachimburgi, which he derives from rek, rich or
* Vide Blackie's Place Names, page 50.
I Like Cleofesho in Berkshire, a place celebrated in Anglo-Saxon Councils.
J The leet is accounted the King's Court. Vide Scriven on Copyholds, Ft. iii,
c. xxii.
§ I find in the Pipe Rolls for Lincolnshire, 8th Henry II. (1161) that there was a
wapentake of Gereburg in that county then responsible for levies to the King's
Exchequer,
44
great, and burg, surety.* These regular periodical meetings of the
Continental rachimburgi, observes Mr. Gomme, have their parallels in
England in the great court, or sheriff s-tourn, or leet, as it was after-
wards called, held twice a year, and the curia parva Hundredi, held
every three weeks, which though appearing now to be so distinct from
each other, belonged originally to the old hundred assembly, the one
representing the civil, the other the criminal jurisdiction of the hundred-
moot.! A local illustration of this is found in the ancient court leet or
sheriff-tourn for the royal Forest of Knaresboro', within Claro which
used regularly to be held at the Castle twice yearly, at Easter and
Michaelmas. The constables then attended to be sworn into office,
eleven for the Forest and nine for the Liberty, each of these
accompanied by four men out of whom the juries were empanelled.
In the light of this present-century custom we can clearly discern the
old ante-Norman claim of the people to be entrusted in the
administration of its local councils, thus directly or indirectly making
all men party to the government of the State.
One important privilege which the old lords of Otley exercised
was that of judging and executing thieves taken within their several
liberties. Consequently we find they had their own gallows at Otley,
Beverley, and Ripon, and the site of the Otley gallows is still known
and retained in the name of Gallows Hill, below the cemetery on the
road to Pool. When the last execution took place here I have no
knowledge, but at Richmond, in the North Riding, the right was
exercised even to the time of the final abolition of feudal tenures, i2th
Charles II. The gallows stood at the east end of the Gallows field
near an old quarry, and the last person hanged there, according to the
old parish registers, was John Conyers, bellman, izth Jan, 1613-14.
Part of the old gallows-tree was standing as late as 17244 Among the
Pleas of the Crown, 52iid Henry III. (1267), there is an indictment
presented by the inhabitants of Pool, Otley, Bramhope, and Arthington,
to the effect that one Ralph Brun had committed many robberies and
* See also Stubbs' Const. Hist., vol. i, p. 54.
f Gomme's Local Institutions, p. 54 ; see also Thoresb)' Soc. Pub., vol. ii, p. 129,
where Sir Symon le Ward, Kt., is stated to owe suit(A.D. 1306) to the Archbishop's
Court at Otley from three weeks to three weeks. Other local instances occur.
J An old York gallows stood near the "Black Horse" public house, on the south
side of the road leading from York to Kexby. Yorks. Archl.Jl., xiv., 450. A "Gallow
Hill Close" is mentioned in the Leeds manor rolls (1650), vide Thoresby Soc. Pub., ix., 64.
The city of Bradford had also anciently its gallows, which stood near the site of the
present Bowling Ironworks, and is described in the local manor rolls as Gallows Close.
Knaresbro' had likewise it's public gallows in use to a late period. As civil liberty
extended these local executions generally lapsed, and not by the express statute
mentioned above.
45
Ili-cl. But he was afterwards apprehended and executed by the said
townships at the Otley gallows, and his land, said to be worth 245. 4d.
and chattels, worth 14*., were forfeited.* Again, in J45g, one Thomas
Tesdaile, of Otley, was apprehended for stealing goods value js. gd.,
belonging to the Prioress of Esholt, and was sentenced to be hanged,
in all likelihood at Otley. t By the laws of Athelstan (vi., c. i., s. i.)
the goods of the culprit were to be divided, one half to the wife (if she
be guiltless of connivance), the other to be again divided, half to the
King and half to the township (geferscipe), while izd. went to the man
who first felled the thief. Although the prerogative of a gallows at
Otley is not traceable beyond the grant of Athelstan, there can be no
doubt that it was the transfer of a pre-existing custom. The unsettled
Britons were notorious pilferers, and their raidings obliged some
stringent method of repression. Doubtless, also, for the good behaviour
of their own people, the Anglo-Saxons embraced and applied the
same in the law of their own townships. This law was continued,
and was not, as some have imagined, introduced by enactment at the
Norman settlement. From the Saxon Chronicle we gather clearly that
the Conqueror did not .subvert the old customs of the country, and on a
comparison with his laws and those of his predecessors, notably of Ina,
Alfred, and Athelstan, we shall find that he retained a great deal of the
Anglo-Saxon prerogative. This included infangtheof (from A.-S.fa/ig
or fang-en, to catch, and theofr a thief), or the right to execute felons
apprehended within particular jurisdictions, and this prerogative the
Norman lords of manors claimed, not as a new creation, but by virtue
of ancient law-right. The feudal system was, of course, no new thing
in the Conqueror's time, but had its original from the military policy of
the ancient Celtic nations.
These transmitted privileges, as affecting the liberty of Cawood,
Wistow, and Otley, were formally contested by Edward I., almost
immediately on the elevation of William VVickwane to the Archbishopric
in 1279. It appears that during the King's absence in the Holy Land
there had been much improper alienation and appropriation of State
tribute and various unwarranted exactions levied on the people on the
pretext of manorial title, to the serious diminution of the. Crown
revenues. Commissions were appointed in every hundred of the
kingdom to inquire into these abuses, and thus a Quo Warmnto was
brought against William, Archbishop of York, demanding to know
by what warrant he claimed to have gallows, returns of writs, estreats,
&c., within the city of York and without. To have a park and free
* Tower Assize Roll, No. 37, quoted in the Yorks. Co. Mag. (1891), p. 86.
t Yorks. Rec. Ser., xvii., 58.
46
warren, and to have his lands quit from suit at " Beverley, Burton,
Wilton, Ripon, Otley, Schireburn, and Thorp," and to have a park and
free warren at Cawood. To which the Archbishop made sure answer
that as to the gallows he claimed them, without York, " in his baronies
of Schireburn, Wilton, Patrington, Otley, Beverley, and Ripon," by this
warrant that King Athelstan gave the said manors to the Archbishop
of York and his successors before the Conquest, from which time all the
Archbishops of York have enjoyed the said liberties. That afterwards,
King Henry I., son of the Conqueror, did, amongst divers other
liberties, grant to the Archbishop infangtheof in the aforesaid lands by
_his_charter, which he produced in court. This settled the matter, and
the Archbishops continued to exercise their hereditary rights.
The returns of Kirkby's Inquest (1284-5) shew that the Archbishop
of York answered in Otley for half a Knight's Fee, the annual value of
the Knight's Fee having been originally fixed at ^20, probably about
A.D. noo. With Otley he held of the King in capite Guiseley, Burley,
Menston, Hawksworth, Baildon, and Pool, as well as the barony of
Sherburn. In 1290 the Archbishop contributed 205. from his manor of
Otley, being at the rate of 405. granted from each Knight's Fee in the
kingdom, in aid of the marriage of the King's eldest daughter. These
" aids,'' says Blackstone, were originally mere benevolences, granted by
the tenant to his lord in times of difficulty and distress, but in process
of time they grew to be considered as a matter of right and not of
discretion. In 1315 the Archbishop, William de Grenefeld, is returned
as lord of the manor of Otley. The revenues of the manor, as furnished
by a rent-roll, 36th Henry VIII. (1544), quoted by Drake,* then
amounted to ^£32 175. i id., or about £$oo of present money. Cawood
yielded a revenue of ^70 135. 4d., and Ripon, then the most valuable
appurtenance of the See of York, was worth ,£143 45. 8d.
It is to be noted that in the Quo Warranto of Edward I. no
allusion is made to the proprietary claim of the Archbishop to the tolls
of the ancient markets at Otley. This was for the reason that the King
only questioned those rights which could in any way infringe on the
imperial interest. Though it did happen in one recorded instance,
viz. A.D. 1439, when the Archbishop's steward levied tolls on some
Knaresboro' Foresters who claimed exemption, by virtue of ancient
grant, to stand toll-free in any market-place in the kingdom, that the
said tolls had been unjustly demanded and taken to the injury of the
men of the Forest. There was no justification in the Archbishop's
claim by reason of any prior privilege as the Foresters well knew.
That a weekly market was instituted by the grant of Athelstan, ca 940,
* Eboracum, pages 545-7.
47
is very probable, but that " market and fairs in Otley have existed by
ancient charter for more than fifteen hundred years," as asserted by
Dr. Shaw* is a stretch of local patriotism which may be excused
though not for a moment entertained. That would carry us back to the
days of the ancient Britons, when many were living in the Stone Age
and such a thing as a charter was totally undreamed of. Even during
the Anglian occupation of Wharfedale there is no doubt that with the
exception of particular grants and charters from the State, the succession
to property and all important transfers and exchanges were ratified
simply by the presence of persons outside the parties to the transaction,
for the laws of Ina in dealing with sale and barter distinctly inform us
that all purchases of any value were to be made before witnesses. No
one could write then, or indeed very few.f In the time of Athelstan
it was moreover not allowed to make any purchase of over twenty
pence value extra portam, and the purchase had to be ratified before
the portreeve or the reeves in the folk-moot. The State whilst always
encouraging every form of legitimate trade has jealously guarded
against any abuse of it, and has always claimed and exercised the
right to establish fairs and markets. There do not appear, however,
any records of letters patent granted before the reign of John. The
earliest mention which I can find of such a grant to Otley is of the
time of Henry III., when in 1222, a two days' fair was licensed to be
established in the town. The following is the transcript, now for the
first time published.
MARKETS AND FAIR AT SHERBURN, PATRINGTON, AND OTLEY
(1222).
The Lord King hath granted to W., Archbishop of York, that he may have, until
his coming of age, a market every week, on Wednesday, at his Manor of Sherburn,
and that he may have, until his coming of age, a market every week, on Thursday, at
his Manor of Patrington, and that he may until his coming of age of the lord King, a
fair every year at Otley, lasting for two days to wit, on the vigil of St. Mary Magdalen,
and on the day itself unless aforesaid markets and fair be to the injury of neighbouring
markets, and it is commanded the Sheriff of Yorks. that he cause him to have aforesaid
markets and fair as aforesaid. Witness, H. &c., at Nottingham, the first day of March,
by the same.J
The markets would be originally held in the churchyard (often in
winter they were held in the nave of the church), and most likely on the
* Wharfedale (1830), page 118.
t Even at the present time this primitive system of transfer prevails to some extent
in the Orkney and Shetland Islands : the right to property not being retained by
deed or written agreement, but simply by undisturbed possession proved by witnc-.-t.-.
before an inquest.
J See also Rot. Chart., zy:A Henry III. (1248) for the Charter of grant of a yearly
fair on St. Mary Magdalen's Day, and weekly (Monday) market at Otlt-y, Hexham, and
other places to Archbishop Gray. Stotees Soc. Pub., vol. Ivi., p. 283. See also the
author's Nidderdale, page 446.
Sabbath, no matter what the chartered day, so that buyers and sellers
coming from the outskirts of the parish, or from long distances, might
do their business, and attend divine service on the same day.* Public
proclamations were also made on the same occasions.! The markets
and fairs were attended by all classes of society from the noble to the
serf, and now and then no doubt one might have seen the lord of the
manor, the Primate himself, accompanied by his steward, mingling with
the motley group. Strolling about the booths and stalls on these ancient
fair days appeared perchance an odd Crusader, or disabled hero with
the war-tan fresh upon his cheek, along with mounted knights and
ladies, shaveling soldiers, privileged beggars and players, and miserable
lepers, crippled and sore, with their clap-dishes begging corn. There
were also monks and laymen from the neighbouring monasteries ;
the monks of Bolton and Arthington and the nuns of Esholt (the latter
had lands at Otley) being regular visitors. Cattle, sheep, and goats
were exhibited then as now, though goats in former times were much
more in request than they are now. I find in the compotus of Bolton
Abbey that the canons came to Otley fair in 1290 and spent 285. 8d. in
the purchase of goats, worth at that time from i5d. to i8d. each, while
a good milch-cow fetched 6s. or about the price of a stone of wool.
There were no shops (as we understand the term) in those days, and at
the back end of the year particularly, the markets were crowded by
many who had travelled from a distance to lay in their winter supplies.}
The Archiepiscopal rule ceased in 1837, wnen the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners took over the duties, exactly 900 years from the grant
of Athelstan ; the Archbishops having enjoyed the fruits of the above
customary gatherings during this long period, and for a great part of
the time they were amongst the largest and best of their kind in the
kingdom. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners resigned the manorial
rights in the Market Place to the Otley Local Board in July, 1872.
The Archbishops, as I have said, had a residence at Otley where
they transacted business and received the homage of their suitors. It
has been variously called a. palace and a castle, but I cannot think that
it was ever a properly fortified manor-house or castle, otherwise we
* The holding ot markets in churchyards was repressed by statute, i^th Edward I.,
but the prohibition seems to have been more honored in the breach than in the
observance.
f See Beverlev Minster Chapter Act Book, p. 5.
J In a comparison of the value of the honor and manor of Skipton-in-Craven in
1310 and 1612, the profits of the weekly market and two fairs in the year there amounted
in 1310 to ;£i6 133. 4d., and in 1612 they were declared not to yield so much. There
had been a long- course of prosperity up to the disaster at Bannockburn in 1314 which
"put back the dial-hand of civilisation fully two centuries."
49
sin mid find it mentioned amongst the Crown licenses to < renellate
wli'u h win n.'irssary in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when
this house seems to have been most frequently occupied in honor and
state. The old mode of defences having become useless by the
introduction of gunpowder, we find that in the fifteenth century the
type of fortified castle gradually died out and the domestic mansion
took its place.* Some alterations appear to have been effected about
the year 1415 when the great kitchens were added by Archbishop
Ilouet, who also made some additions to the houses at Ripon and
built the large dining-hall in the castle at Cawood. This prelate was
celebrated for his lavish hospitality, and was frequently in residence at
one or other of his palaces where he maintained a numerous retinue,
anil no doubt the market-salesmen at Otley always rejoiced at his
coming hither. He is recorded to have consumed four score tun of
claret yearly, besides various other liquors and a proportionate quantity
of comestibles. When he died in 1423 he left by will ^100 (at least
;£i,ooo of present money), to meet the expenses of the great feast and
pomp of his funeral. f His successors continued to occupy the old
moated mansion at Otley occasionally, to the time of Archbishop
Hutton (1544-1606)! when it was neglected and by the time of
the Civil War it was a complete ruin. Thoresby in his Diary, under
date 1702, says "we rode by Askwith and Newhall over the bridge to
Otley, where the first thing I observed was the ruins of the Arch-
bishop's palace there." The foundations remained until about 1780
when the existing Manor House, at the bottom of Kirkgate, was built
on the site.§ It is the residence of Thomas Constable, Esq., J.P.,
descended from the Maxwells, Earls of Nithsdale, and nephew of the
"good Mr. Middleton," of Middleton Lodge, whose only child, Mary
Constable, married Charles Botolph, Lord Mowbray and Stourton, ot
Allerton Mauleverer. The Archiepiscopal Courts, I should add, were
afterwards held at one of the inns or at the old Free School.
The inhabitants of Otley anciently held their tenements by
burgage-tenure^f, and temp. Edward I. there were 137 burgages that
paid an annual rent of fivepence each to the Archbishop by way of
soccage. These burgage-houses collectively were designated a borough
and their occupants were named burgesses, a term afterwards applied
* See Parker's Domestic Architecture in England, Part i.
f See Raine's Historians of the Church of York, iii., 322.
% See Fairfax Correspondence, vol. i., p. 162.
§ Similarly the remains of the old palace or manor hall at Ripon were removed in
1830 to make way for the present Court Hou-c.
* .Set- Blount's Law Dictionary,
5°
to the general body of inhabitants. Although the town is now the
capital of a Parliamentary division it had never a municipal government,
nor was it ever actually represented in Parliament excepting indirectly
by the Archbishops. In 1298 when two knights of the shire and two
discreet and able citizens were summoned to meet the King at York,
from every county and borough in England, the only towns in Yorkshire
directly represented at this great national assembly were York, Beverley,
Malton, Northallerton, and Scarbro'; the last mentioned place having
been incorporated by charter of Henry II., A.D. n8r, and at the
Parliament held in 1282 was the only borough in Yorkshire summoned
to send members. Whilst Otley had anciently the privilege of direct
representation, it seems always to have claimed exemption by reason
of its affairs being controlled by the metropolitan and consequent
unnecessitated liability to the expense attached to such representation.
In a place so long and completely monopolized by the Arch-
bishops, it would be interesting to discover how the two tofts at Otley
came into the possession of Fountains Abbey.* In 1371 the Abbot
had to maintain his right by claiming against Richard Bonefaunt,
chaplain, and William de Merton, chaplain, one messuage in Otley, in
right of his church. Also in 1372 the Abbot claimed a messuage in the
town against John Ryder, chaplain. Otley had early given name to an
honorable family, which I find first mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of i2th
Henry II. (1165); and one Henricus de Ottley was Abbot of Fountains,
who on his death in 1289! was interred in the chapter-house in
accordance with the early Cistercian rule. Richard de Ottelay was
Vicar of Otley in 1391. A Robert de Otley was also Prior of Bolton
in 1370, and Thomas Otley was Prior in 1495. About 1 130 Archbishop
Thurstan gave to the Nunnery of St. Clement, York, which he had
founded, "one acre of land in Otley, with the tithe of a certain mill
there. "\ This is an early reference to the lord's mill, where in former
times it was compulsory to grind all corn grown or consumed within
the liberty.
The hospital for that terrible malady the leprosy, cited by Tanner
as existing here temp. Edward II., originated in all probability early in
the twelfth century when the disease was making great ravages in
England. At that time, before the general foundation of monasteries,
it was the especial province of the Church to relieve the sick and the
poor, and there are good reasons for supposing that it was to the
* Burton's Mon. Ebor. p. 189.
t The compotus of Bolton Abbey for 1290 also mentions a Henry de Otteley. See
Dr. Whitaker's Craven yA ed., pages 455, 454, 457.
J Mon. Ang. I. 510.
5'
forethought and charity of the above-mentioned Archbishop Thurstan
that the hospital at Otley was due. He also founded the leper's hospital
of St. Mary Magdalene at Ripon, and the old Norman chapel, with its
low side window, belonging to it, is still standing at the north end of
Stammergate, not far from the river. Archbishop Thurstan died in
1139, at which time there were at least 10,000 hospitals in Europe
containing lepers. In Yorkshire they stood at the entrance of many of
our old towns such as York, Pontefract, Newton near Hedon, Richmond,
Whitby, &c. At Otley the site is not accurately known, but Dr. Shaw
(1830) thinks it was in Westgate, as certain houses there are described
in the old parish-books as the Hospital.* But ex-Councillor John
Brown, of Otley, now in his 8oth year, tells me that in his young
days there were three very old thatched houses (at one time forming
one dwelling) in Cross Green, which were always spoken of as
Leper Houses. My own opinion is that the enclosure marked in the
tithe-award map as Spittal Field, on the Pool road, near the Cemetery,
is the likeliest locality, as these hospitals were invariably isolated and
near one of the principal entrances to a town. Strangers were not
allowed to enter a town without passport, and anyone with the disease
upon him would be told off to the hospital for temporary relief pending
further enquiry. The disease was no doubt caused by the wretched
habits of the time, uncleanliness (the poor for centuries could not afford
soap) bad dietary, indulgence in diseased meat and damaged vegetables.
At Berwick-on-Tweed it was even ordered that all rotten meat and fish
were to be given to the lepers, and if there were no lepers then the
corrupt meat was to be destroyed. Indeed the refuse of most markets
was usually the perquisite of these poor fallen creatures.
King Richard's poll-tax for 1378 gives us the names of the lay
adult inhabitants of Otley at that time, and from this list we find there
were 43 married couples and 25 single persons above the age of i6f
who contributed their hard-earned groats to satisfy the warlike King's
ambition to maintain Calais as an English port. The people of
Otley, it may be safely affirmed, cared little whether it belonged to the
French or the English, but they were compelled perhaps to provide
men as well as to submit to the obnoxious tax, which as is well known
afterwards led to the Wat Tyler rebellion. The principal tax-payer at
* Are these the two old alms-houses in Westgate for poor widows ? The offices of
Messrs. Payne's machine-works now occupy the site.
t Assuming- that the 43 householders had each a family of three children under 16,
and allowing for the clergy and a few others, not included in this enumeration, we
shall be safe in estimating the population at about 250 in 1,379. Bingley at this time
(1379) was just twice as populous as Otley, while the present great city of Bradford,
not so large as Otley, had only 26 married couples and 34 single adults.
52
Otley was Johannes Filius Ade [de Otley?], or John Adamson, who is
described as a " franklan " (gentleman), and paid 35. 4d. ; all the rest
were engaged in agriculture or farm-service and paid 4d., except a tailor,
a shoemaker, a mason, and a smith, each of whom was assessed at 6d.*
It is noteworthy that no innkeeper is mentioned, as one would have
thought there had been hostelries at Otley at an early period for the
convenience of those attending the markets, as well as the hostilers
were sometimes called on to act as hostages for merchants under the
old trade-guilds. There does not, however, appear to have been any
licensed inns in 1379 between Bradford (where there were three) and
Knaresbro' and Ripon, although there was at least one brewery at
Ripley. Yet I find that in 1345, when the Abbot of Selby travelled to
Preston to treat with John of Gaunt, then Earl of Derby, he baited his
horse at Otley, and paid for pan pro pale/rid, id. before proceeding to
Skipton.
War and pestilence ravaged the country during the greater part
of the succeeding century, and the reports everywhere are that large
tracts of old farm-land remained uncultivated. In 1372 the population
of England was estimated at rather over 2,000,000 and there was no
increase for fully a hundred years after that date.f When the sixteenth
century was ushered in with ill-bodings in the north, the flower of the
Craven dales, its young and able-bodied men, was singled out from an
already sadly-thinned populace to aid the King's forces against the
Scotch. The " Shepherd Lord " quitted his lonely retreat in the Forest
of Harden, and leading the "bone and sinew" of Wharfedale far into
Northumberland, triumphed on the field of Bannockburn in 1513. The
names of those who Avent with bill and bow from Otley have not been
discovered, but a portion of the list preserved among the records at
Bolton Abbey, furnishes the names of many from villages adjacent.^
Proud the day when in 1525 this Shepherd Lord's son rode in state
from Skipton to London, to receive that mark of the Royal favour
which advanced him to the rank of Earl of Cumberland ! Doubtless
the grand liveried cavalcade passed through Otley. It included thirty-
three servants, all well mounted, with the noble Earl's chaplain, the
parson of Guiseley, " Sir " Thomas Benson, whose fur-lined gown and
other rich vestments had been new-made for the occasion, as appears
by the Skipton Household Books, for the wonderful sum of 135. 4d. In
* There was no joiner or carpenter here then, although I find mention made of
William the Carpenter at Otley in a grant by Archbishop Walter Gray, A.D. 1215-55.—
Surtees, vol. 56, p. 252.
f See Denton's England in the Fifteenth Century, p. 130.
£ See the author's Craven Highlands, pp. 61-66.
53
1523 we have a list of inhabitants of Otley,* and in the Muster Roll for
1539 we find the names of twenty-seven Otley men, able-bodied and fit
for war.f This was on the eve of the downthrow of the monastei
for the continuance of which the people of Otley seem to have had
little sympathy. The parishioners became speedy converts to the new
arrangements, and by 1604 there were only five persons in Otley parish
who absented themselves from the reformed church. These were,
according to Peacock's list, Dorothy, wife of Win. Thompson; Hugh
Sherburne, Esq., and Elizabeth, his wife, of Esholt ; Dorothy Inghain,
their servant ; and Robert Fauconbridge, of Burley, a servant of Wm.
Middleton, Esq., who had not been to the Parish Church for a year.
In 1669 the recussants in Otley were reduced to two, namely, Anthony
West, and Mary, his wife; while Pool claimed one in the steadfast
person of John Sparrow.
When the Civil War broke out, urged by the J'uritan party, as it
was said, " for the safety of Protestantism," the parish of Otley provided
a gallant leader in the person of Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton Hall,
who, with his father, Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, of Steeton Hall, York,
were two of the most conspicuous personages in the events of that
tumultous period. Ferdinando, worn out with the troubles and disasters
of the time, died in 1648, and his son Thomas, created Lord Fairfax,
was made General of the Parliamentary forces throughout England.
Could the gallant General have foreseen the protracted strife and trial
of conscience he subsequently suffered, one can hardly believe he
would have entered on such a career. That he erred in judgment,
observes Hartley Coleridge, none will deny. The event proved it.J
He took no part in the king's death, and when the regicide Court
assembled he was not present, and his lady even dared to exclaim, as
the court-crier was waiting the response to his name, which was placed
first on the list of judges, " He has more wit than to be here." Yet
this same spirited dame had no doubt been largely instrumental in
guiding and urging his choice of action, for she was a daughter of the
able and valiant Horatio, Lord Vere, under whom Fairfax had served
in Holland, and had " learned her religion and politics in the Dutch
Republic." She had no sympathy with the strong Roman Catholic
feeling that prevailed in England, and no doubt resented Queen
Henrietta's endeavours to raise supplies from the English Catholics for
the Royal cause. Lord Fairfax himself, was one of the few noblemen
in the north that threw in his lot with the Parliament, and though at
* Yorks. Archl.JL, vol. ii., p. 290. f See Thoresby Soc. Pub,, vol. iv., p. 251.
^ Worthies of Yorkshire and Lancashire, p. 181.
54
heart a Presbyterian, one is tempted to question whether, if left to his
own unguided judgment, he would have allied himself among the
"enemies of his king.''* His father, however, was "actively and
zealously disaffected to the king," and his brother Charles, though
afterwards a good friend to the Restoration, took some share in
formulating the Parliamentary schemes.
Charles Fairfax, who was a ripe scholar and antiquary, and
author of the Analecta fairfaxiana, lived at this time retired from
public gaze at the old hall at Menston. It is said that while Prince
Rupert was lodged at Denton Hall, three days before the crushing
defeat of the Royalists at Marston in 1644, Cromwell, accompanied by
Sir Thomas Fairfax, visited Charles Fairfax at Menston Hall, and
round a stone table, now at Farnley Hall, discussed and devised those
plans which culminated in that disastrous battle which proved the
turning point of the war.f The town of Otley quietly sided with their
powerful neighbours at Denton, and many an Otley stripling would
shew his mettle at Marston Moor. A sad time it was, too. Some,
whose names we know not, doubtless fell on that day of ruthless
carnage ; some perhaps worn out with the ill fare and hardships of the
time died prematurely soon afterwards. In the Otley registers I have
noted such an entry as this : —
1644, Richard Skelton, a souldier, buryed the xth of October,
This is little more than three months after the great battle. Then in
1647 appears: —
Mathew Peale, a souldier, buryed the sixth day of April), 1647.
Otley, situated as it is mid-way between the two garrison-towns of
Skipton and Knaresbro', was naturally the victim of some occasional
raids, and when, after the Preston rout in 1648, Cromwell and Lambert
led the army into Yorkshire, we find that the two generals camped at
Otley for a night, and there is a tradition at Otley that some of the
* Mark the tone of gracious loyalty and condescension in the letter addressed by
Fairfax to Her Majesty, after the opening of the war in 1642-3, quoted in Whitaker's
Loidis and El-mete, pp. 194-5.
f The table has been raised on two stone supports against the west wall of the old
dairy at Farnley. Its surface measurement is 4 feet 8 inches by 3 feet, and a brass plate
in the middle of it reads :
AT THIS TABLE,
which formerly stood in the Orchard of Menston Hall,
The seat of Colonel Charles Fairfax,
OLIVER CROMWELL
(according to a tradition carefully handed down)
DINED
June 3<Dth, 1644,
Two days preceding the decisive battle of Marston Moor,
55
soldiers entered the Black Bull inn and drank every drop of liquid
they could find. In a despatch by Cromwell to Parliament he writes :
Alter the conjunction of that party which I brought with mi- out of \Vales with the
northern forces about Knaresborouj;!! and \Vetherby hearinff that tin- enemy was
advanced with their army into Lancashire, we marched the next dav, bein^ the 131 h of
this instant August, to Otley (having cast oil our train, and sent it to Knaresboroujfh,
because of the difficulty of marching tlierewith through Craven, and to the end we
might with more expedition attend the enemy's motion) ; and on the i-Jth to Skipton ;
the I5th to Gisburn ; the i6th to Hodder Bridge, over Kibble ; wher<- \\-e held a
council of war.
The Royalist vicar of Otley had been obliged to resign on the
outbreak of the war, and the pulpit was filled by "ministers" of
Puritan bias, whose prayers were for Cromwell and " liberty." Public
"fast-days" were frequently held in the town, in atonement partly, it
may be supposed, for the duty of taking up arms.
When Oliver Cromwell was " King" I find a number of entries in
the register of marriages " solemnized " not by a minister of religion,
but before the martial. Colonel Fairfax, at Menston Hall. The Act ot
1653 required that all marriage contracts should be performed and
completed before a magistrate, and the young couples instead of being
married in their Parish Church, as of old, had to trudge off to Menston,
taking witnesses with them to certify to their legitimate union. The
following I have copied are samples of these local civil contracts : —
Thomas West, of Otley, and Dorothy Scott, of the same place, marrycd at Weston
the xijth daie of ffebruary, 1654, without publication. [It would appear the banns had
never been published in this case.]
Xickolas Hudson, of Baildon, and Mary Hartley, of Hawkesworth, boath of this
p'ish, marryed at Menston, before Coll. ffairfax, the xijth daie of ffebruary, 1654.
On Saturday, April 3oth, 1649, two Otley men, named John
Hollins and James Dallin, were executed at York, for rebellion, and it
may also be mentioned in connection with the Farnley Wood Plot, four
natives of Otley, viz. : Timothy Mosley, John Hutchinson, David
Jackson, and Cornelius Thompson, suffered with fourteen others at the
York Tyburn, on Wednesday, January 25th, 1663. Two of them were
quartered, and their heads and quarters set up on the several gates of
the city; four of their heads were placed over Micklegate Bar, three
at Boothan Bar, one at Walmgate Bar, one at Monk Bar, and three
over the Castle Gates. The well-known story of this unfortunate
rebellion need not be repeated here. Otley has always been particularly
free from crimes of a serious nature, and for 500 years, viz. : from 1379
to 1879, I believe these six natives of Otley are the only persons in the
parish who have suffered the extreme penalty of the law.*
* See the author's Old Bingley, page 253, also Mayhall's Annals, vol. i., pp. 587 and
661.
56
In 1672 there were 108 householders in Otley who paid the tax
for their fires or hearth-stones; in all there were 278 hearths, the old
Court-house of the Archbishop having been vacated, as also the Free
School. The principal contributors were Mr. Stephen Topham, who
paid for 12 hearths; Mr. Henry Wilkinson, 10; Mrs. Dawson, 7;
Mr. Edward Barker, 7 ; Seth Pullan, 7 ; Anne Hobson, 6, and the
following had each 5 hearths : Peter Rhoades, Mr. Pullan, Rich. Hogg,
Henry Wyley, Rich. Rhoades, Wid. Braithwaite, Wm. Tebbs, Anthony
Hall, and Mr. Fawkes. The name of Thomas England is entered
three times for 3, 2, i. All others had from one to four hearths each.*
As affording some idea of the general status of Otley, towards the
close of this century, it may be mentioned that it was rated higher
than any other place in the wapentake, Leeds only excepted.f In
1715 and also in 1745, I find Otley witnessed some of the proceedings
connected with the Stuart rebellion which terminated in the " waefu'
day o' Drumossie Muir." In the Skipton Township Books are entries
of items of expenditure for conveying baggage and sick and lame
soldiers from Skipton to Otley4 The bone and sinew of Otley was
called on to defend His Majesty's peace on the Jacobite rising in 1715,
just as we have seen many a gallant Otley lad had shouldered pike or
musket on the terrible day of Marston Moor. I have seen an old
manuscript volume at Bolton Abbey which gives a " long list of militia-
men ordered to be raised in different divisions of Yorkshire, and Otley
figures largely in that list. The first list for Otley commands Mr.
Dinsdale, as principal, and then follows these names of contributors . —
John Stables, Occupiers of Mr. Sperm's Lands, Robert Snawden,
Thomas Dunwell, Quintan Rennard, David Rhodes, Robert Barker,
Wm. Hoddington, Joseph Page, John Cowgill, Jeremy Myers, and
Christ, fflesher. (2nd list.) James Powell, principal, followed by 13
others. (3rd.) Lawr. fflesher, principal, and 10 others. (4th.) Joseph
Stocks, principal, and 7 others. (5th.) Daniel Neale, principal, and 17
others. (6th.) Joseph Whitehead, principal, and TO others. Altogether
85 persons in Otley were called on to provide an able man each or
serve themselves in the King's cause against the Pretender, James
Stuart. When Prince Charles Stuart beat a hasty retreat from Derby
through Lancashire in December, 1745, a portion of Marshall Wade's
army passed through Bradford on December 2ist, though it is not
very certain which was the route it afterwards took. It was obviously
sent to cut off the Prince's retreat northward from Preston. Spies to and
from Skipton (an intelligence station) doubtless passed through Otley.
* See Tlwresby Soc. Pub., vol. iv., p. 26-27.
f Yorks, Archl.Jl., vol. i., p. 160-1. + Dawson's Skipton, p. 146-7.
CHAPTER III.
THK TOWN OF OTLEY, PAST AND PRESENT.
The town of Otley Nnt«l visitors Antiquity of the parish and origin of tin- rliurch
Comparison with Dewsbury Historical and architectural account of the church
The building of the aisles -Kndowment of the chantry-chapels The tombs and
tablets The families of Fairfax, Fawkcs, and Vavasour --The medic-ties of Un-
church List (annotated) of vicars - Abstracts from the registers— The churchyard
The Crammar School Local Nonconformity The Friends \\VsIevans
Independents Baptists Primitive .Methodists, <fcc. -Old roads and streets, their
origin ami significance Old Otley inns -Attack on Lord Fairfax Life at Otley in
the coaching-days -'I'he railways — Pleasant aspects — Local trades and industries
The Wharfedale Agricultural Society; its origin and history — Amusing anecdote-,
—Various old customs at Otley— The Maypole— Old Otley families -Distinguished
natives.
" ' - HEN Camden wrote his wonderful Britannia more than
three centuries ago all that he deemed it necessary to
say about Otley was that it was " memorable for
nothing but its situation under a huge craggy cliff
called Chevin," an opinion which I venture to think
will be disputed by those who consider the thirty pages that precede
this present chapter. But old writers are generally brief in their
dissertations upon individual localities. Although brevity may be said
to be a negative rather than a positive virtue, yet in these days of
research and enlightenment, when the interest in the lives of persons and
in events connected with particular places in former times has greatly
increased, the local historian of the present day would certainly be
judged ill-fitted for his task were he to forego every consideration of an
ancient town save its dominant feature.
Otley indeed before the century just closed has not come in for a
large measure of notice at the hands of the historian and topographer.
Warburton, the acute antiquary, who came here in 1718, simply
describes it as "a small village," but the observant poet Gray, who did
not profess either history or topography, furnishes perhaps the best
among the earlier notices of the locality, and that is but brief. In the
autumn of 1769 he drove from Skipton in Craven and descended the
Chevin into Otley, which he describes as "a large airy town, with clean
but low rustic buildings, and a bridge over the Wharfe," and then he
adds, " I went into its spacious Gothic church, which has been new
58
roofed, with a flat stucco-ceiling." A few lines on the monuments
follow, and that is the sum of his remarks upon the old town.
The Church is, of course, the most important erection, and around
its time-stained walls and hallowed ground there cling memories
redolent of the far distant past. The pre-Conquest crosses, very
properly preserved within the church (an example that might be
followed in many other places), proclaim a high antiquity to the
teaching of Christianity in these parts. Dr. Shaw has stated, and his
assertion has been often repeated, that, as a matter of fact, there was a
church in Otley in 630, " which was burnt, with the town, by the
VICINITY OF OTLEY CHURCH FIFTY YEARS AGO.
pagans,"* an opinion, I am obliged to say, unsupported by a single
authentic record. If Christianity had obtained a footing in the place
at this early period, and as I think I have shewn there is a probability
that it had, it is not likely in these unsettled times there would be
anything more than a preaching-cross erected so soon after the con-
version of the Northumbrian king Edwin, in 627. While the west of
Yorkshire had in the first instance been Christianised from the north by
Qeltic missionaries, the Anglo-Saxons, on their colonization of Wharfe-
dale, presumably in the sixth century, when Deira was conquered
(559) by Ella, were rank heathens, and were the actual founders of Otley
before the annexation of Elmete. They received their first impulse
* Wharfedale (1830), p. 109.
59
tn the true faith through the Roman missionary Paulinus, who, as I
have said, lied from the north on its relapse, or perhaps partial relaj
into paganism in 633.* As shewing how slowly the tide of Christianity
uas moving at this time, it may be mentioned that the great Saxon
parish of Dewsbury, which is stated, though on questionable authority,
to have originally covered an area of nearly 400 square miles, had but
one church recorded in the Domesday inquest ; while in the whole
wapentake of Morley there were only two churches which can with any
degree of certainty be referred to the first period of Saxon church-
building, f The two important parishes of Bradford and Halifax had
no churches authenticated at the time of the Norman survey, although
they had long existed as separate townships, whose boundaries formed
the parishes which joined up northwards to the parishes of Otley and
Bingley. Bingley, Bradford, and Halifax may have had small chapels
of wood or stone and thatch, or only preaching-crosses, before the
Norman conquest, but such chapels are never mentioned in Domes-
day. At each of these places fragments of Anglo-Saxon crosses still
exist. Otley on the other hand had undoubtedly, like Dewsbury,
as the capital of a wide parish in the Saxon era, a church and a priest.
This is stated in Domesday, and it is significant that two other
churches in this part of Wharfedale are also recorded in 1086, viz., at
Ilkley and Weston, shewing that Christianity had become a citadel of
strength in this neighbourhood, as it had been for centuries before the
Norman conquest. The teaching of Paulinus, however, did not at
once, except in one or two special instances, as at York, lead to the
erection of churches ; nor is it likely that either Dewsbury or Otley can
lay claim to their structural foundations dating earlier than the final
overthrow of paganism in Yorkshire in 655.! The dedication of most
of the ancient churches of the Saxon parishes of Elmete to All Saints,
which I have before alluded to, does in some measure support the idea
that after the Synod of Whitby in 664, when " Rome rule" supplanted
" Home rule," the attempt was made to maintain the Romish supremacy
and to commemorate in the most practical manner the achievement of
Pope Boniface IV. in making the Roman church the head and mistress
of all churches. In 610 the heathen temple of the Pantheon at Rome
had been converted into a church of God Almighty, and dedicated to
* The local absence of heathen place-names does not premise that Christianity
then prevailed, though it may g-ive colour to the belief that Otley and the Anglian
settlements in Wharfedale were not colonized until after the annexation of Elmete,
A.D. 627-630.
f See Whitaker's Loidis and Elmete, p. 274.
J According- to Lappenberg, very few churches were erected before the time of
Archbishop Egbert, of York, A.D. 731-766.
6o
the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, a dedication warmly
followed in the erection of churches throughout Christendom.* The
period following these events was marked by marvellous efforts to
promote Christianity in the north, and however thinly scattered its
seeds were sown, there is no doubt that, compared with other parts of
England, the church in Northumbria was the very root and sap of the
Church of England at this time.
Whilst the establishment of a seventh century church at Otley
must ever remain conjectural, there can, I think, be little doubt from
what I have said in the first chapter 'that on the acquisition of the
parish by the See of York, in the reign of Athelstan (a grant that gives
additional force to the idea of its being already an important centre of
religion) a more commodious church would soon afterwards be erected.
It should be remembered that over a great part of Yorkshire, and
particularly in the western dales, the land was poor, rugged, and
mountainous, the parishes were of large extent and consequently
churches were few and far between. But through the fostering care of
the archbishops the parish of Otley in the later Saxon times attained,
as I have before explained, a high degree of prosperity, which led no
doubt to the subsequent founding of churches at Ilkley and Weston,
and perhaps chapels at Guiseley, Baildon, and other outlying places in
the parish before the Norman Conquest.
On the recovery of the parish from the ravages of the Conquest,
early in the i2th century (the greater part of the manor in 1086 being
waste), a larger and better church would be erected in accordance with
the spirit of the times. It is to this period I refer the existing north
doorway, which has a plain, round arch supported by single columns
with square abaci and large trefoiled capitals, evidence of rather late
date. When the north aisle was added in the reign of Henry VII. this
Norman doorway was moved to its present position, as appears by the
Perpendicular masonry on either side of it. The original church
would have a mere bell-turret and no tower. It appears to have
occupied the site of the present chancel, and to have extended south-
wards to the Denton Chapel and westwards as far as the columns of
the transept arches, where a foundation wall was discovered in 1867.
At this time the floor was concreted, which necessitated the deepening
of some old graves. While this was going on a very remarkable tomb
was discovered in the chancel. It was about four feet below the
surface, and hardly wider and deeper than an ordinary coffin. The
sides and ends were built up of rough unmortared cobble-stones,
* 1 may here observe that a dedication festival at Otley has been instituted by the
present vicar of Otley, Mr. Frost, and was held for the first time on All Saints Day,
Nov. i st., 1899.
6i
overlaid with similarly large unhewn stones. On removing this rude
cover no body was found, only a tress <>l temale hair and some teeth,
while the soil was covered with a white dust. On the antiquity of this
burial I shall not presume to speak, but it is evidently pre-Norman.
There were no rings or relics, nor even a nail, shewing that the body
had been buried uncoffined. There is a very early look about some of
the masonry at the east end of the chancel, and also in the south wall,
which is built of stones of all shapes and sizes, and with wide joints.
It may also be noted there is no string-course.
NORMAN DOORWAY, OTLEY CHURCH.
In 1851 part of a Saxon cross was found in the chancel walls,
having been preserved there by later builders on the enlargement of the
church. The many and varied fragments of sculptured crosses and
other remains of Christian antiquity in the church, supply strong proof
of the importance of Otley as a centre of the faith in early times.
Apparently one of the oldest of these relics is the plain semi-cylindrical
base of a cross, now placed against the west wall of the tower, which
seems to belong to the same class as the famous Pillar of Eliseg, near
Valle Crucis, in Denbighshire, an illustration of which appears on page
27 of the late Rev. W. S. Calverley's Early Sculptured Crosses (1899),
edited by the able pen of Mr. W. G. Collingwood, M.A. It is said to
62
be Mercian in type rather than Northumbrian, and is not found either
in Scotland or Ireland, and only once in Wales. There are also some
large and very beautiful fragments, now in the baptistery, one of which
bears the device of a creature having the appearance of an eagle's
head with winged body and dragon's tail. It is a magnificent and
probably unique piece of sculpture. For a long period happily
it had been out of harm's way, having been basely used as a
building-stone over the chancel-arch, whence it was removed at the
restoration in 1867. Another stone bears on its front face several busts
in panels which seems to be of similar date and workmanship. Mr.
Thomas Drew, R.H.A., of Dublin, who has designed many Celtic
crosses, now in various parts of the world, believes the two stones have
formed part of one cross, and has ventured to " restore ' it as shewn in
the accompanying illustration. In design it is Celtic, yet in its sculpture
which is remarkably well and boldly executed characteristically Franco-
Norman, and evidently historically and symbolically significant in
every part. The date of this fine churchyard cross may be nth or
1 2th century. The heads in the bottom panels are probably of historical
personages.* The central fragments also bear evidences of the Celtic
* Mr. W. G. Collingwood, to whom I have submitted photographs of the crosses
inclines to think there is too great a tendency to judge this kind of home work by
Irish art. In Ireland the type lasted longer than it did here. Our artists, he says,
certainly cannot be judged by Irish dates, any more than Scotch, and in Scotland
the pre-Norman type lasted till the Reformation. He is of opinion that the two
fragments have not formed part of one cross, though it is difficult to pronounce upon
them without seeing the objects themselves. The fragment bearing the scrolls with
animals and birds shews extremely beautiful work though not very early Anglian
it might be dated 8th century or possibly early gth. The two lower figures hold books
not unlike the usual representations of evangelists on crosses of that type. The
uppermost figure seems to be an angel. As to the so-called eagle-dragon stone he
holds that it is not an eagle, but the usual northern dragon which has two totally
distinct meanings in its original symbolization. One has the devil, the old serpent,
Leviathan, Midgard's worm, &c., and in Christian monuments placed beneath^ or in
subjection to the cross, or other symbols of divine power. And the other meaning,
originally, was the griffin, winged lion of St. Mark, combination of best human and
divine qualities, Immanuel. For decorative purposes there is no doubt the griffin's
head became more eagle-like, simply because a lion's head is far from easy to carve in
stone, and an eagle's beak is known at once ; the griffin's tail then became more
and more serpentine. On the other hand Leviathan's head that was bruised became
more bestial, that is, less imitating a natural serpent, and he got wings because he is
a spirit, and his tail got twisted up because he is an ornament. At last ignorant
northern workmen really did not know the difference between the two figures, but
they liked their dragon because he was easy to draw, effective as a subject, and the
most adaptable decorative object that could be introduced into a composition. It is
questionable whether in Anglian art of the earlier period the dragon was used as a
stock subject, at least not uncombined with figures that explain it. Of course there
must be differences of opinion until all the facts are collected together, and the most
we can do is to obtain careful drawings or photographs of the stones, studying the
whole together before being too positive as to dates.
4 H
(A to
63
influence in its scroll and plait ornamentations, which are not
particularly good and are probably of the loth or early part of the nth
century, that is Anglo-Danish. The old Norman windows in the chancel
were only discovered in 1867, when the clerestory was added. The one
on the south side has been restored. According to Dodsworth the
south aisle was built by Sir Simon [Christopher ? the hero of Flodden]
Ward, of Esholt,* and | Thomas) Thwaiu-s of Denton, and it had a
roof of flat pitch. In the south window of the choir appeared the arms
of Ward, arg. a cross patonce, and they were also cut in the pillar
thereof. The arms of Croker, Wortlay, Scargill and Calverley are also
mentioned. The north aisle, with the Lindley Chapel at its eastern
termination, was doubtless also added a little before the Reformation
when the large east window was inserted,! although the date 1606 appears
over the door. But this must commemorate some later restoration.
In the respond of the .arcade, near the pulpit, is a piscina, and doubt-
less there has been a small altar. It is not unlikely that a similar
piscina exists in the Denton Chapel behind the Fairfax monument.
There was a chantry dedicated to Our Lady on the north side of the
church,:}: the incumbent whereof was hired by the parishioners to help
and further the curate for the ministration, not only of divine service,
but also for the visitation of impotent and poor people within the
parish, which is stated in the Certificates of Chantries at the Dissolution
to number 1000 householders at the least. § There were copyhold
* Sir Christopher Ward held the patronage of Guiseley Church from 1496 to the
time of his death in 1521. He was the last male representative of this ancient family.
See Surtees Soc. Pub., vol. xlii., pp. 197-811. For pedigree of Ward, see Flower's
Visitation of Yorks. (1563-4), and Slater's Guiseley, pp. 101-110.
f Out of certain lands, the property of Thomas Lindley, Esq., of Lindley, six
marks were bequeathed by him in his will, proved in 1524, to " fyncle an honeste preiste
for ev'r more to syng at my maner of Lyndley, to pray for my saull, my fader's
and moder saulls, and al Cristen saulls," and the trustees were recommended to
appoint Sir William Grene, for the remainder of his life, he being then testator's
chaplain.
Jane Sykeream of Adel, by will dated 1503, gave one torch, value 4'-, to the church
at Otley. Tlioresbv Soc. Pub., iv., 7.
+ 13, April, A.D. 1529. Bryan Palmes, of Farm-ley, to be buried in Our Lady
(Jhere, and ordered that his executors do cause a stone to be layd over him with the
Image of the Nativity of Our Lady set upon it, and his own image kneeling under it.
Tmre. Bryan Palmes married Isabel, d. and co-heir ot Thoma> Lindley, and by this
marriage the two families became united as explained on the quaint old bras* in the
church.
23, Jan., 1545. Tho. Johnson, of Lyndley, Knt., to be buried in Our Lady Queare,
and willed that his executors do cause a stone to be layd upon him with the image of
Our Lord's Nativity set upon it, and an image of himself made kneeling under the
same with his arms on four corners of the stone. Torre.
S Su> tees Soc. Pub., vols. 94, pages 230 and 395.
64
and freehold lands, and certain burgage land, in the holding of diverse
persons, belonging to the said chantry, which was returned in 1548 as
of the gross yearly value of ^4 8s. 8d. and nett ^3 tos. 3d. There
was also an oratory or donative of St. Catherine in the parish church,
" founded for assistance in serving the cure," and valued yearly at
395. 8d. At this time (1548) it was stated that there were two persons,
viz. : William Holgill, master of the Savoy in London, and Thomas
Magnus, not resident, who find one curate to serve the cure, having no
other assistance but that of the chantry priests, and the ministers must
have found the work somewhat rough and difficult for the parish was
very large and as then described, " foule to traveyle in wynter."
FAIRFAX TOMB IN OTLEY CHURCH.
In the chancel is a Norman piscina, and in the south wall of the
chancel is a small rectangular cupboard or almery, 17^ by 12 inches,
the use of which may be explained as follows :
Upon the right hand of the higfhe altar, ther shuld be an almorie, either cutte into
the \\alle or framed upon it ; in the whiche thei would have the sacrament of the Lord's
Bodye ; the holy oyle for the sicke, and Chrismatorie, alwaies to be locked.*
It is interesting to note in the will of vicar Rood, or Rud (A.D.
1478), that the ambo was still in use in the church. This was a kind of
raised reading desk, ascended from the east and west sides, and which
* From the Fardle of Facions, translated by Wm. Watreman (A.D. 1555), and quoted
in Rudder's History of Gloucester p. 410.
65
at a later period developed into the pulpit. In very early times the
ministers usually preached from the altar steps, and there is little doubt
but that the amba at Otley is a survival of its use in an early church, of
which examples still exist in the churches of St. Clement and St.
Laurentius at Rome. Formerly the chancel-arch was covered by a
gallery, and had an organ in the middle of it, and there was a painting
of Moses and Aaron on the wall behind. An iron ring on each side of
the chancel-arch also most likely supported a pre-Reformation rood-loft.
There was likewise a gallery at the west end, erected in 1764. These
unsightly galleries have been removed, and in 1851 the plaster ceiling,
referred to by the poet Gray, was also taken down ; the roof being
then raised, and the clerestory erected. At this time there was a small
bell-turret directly above the chancel-arch, which most probably con-
tained the sanctus bell. It is just perceptible in the illustration on
page 58, shewing the old aspects of the church and its surroundings.
The monuments and inscriptions in the spacious interior of the
church are both numerous and interesting. The most notable is an
altar-tomb in the south aisle, bearing effigies of Lord and Lady Fairfax,
grandparents of the famous General, Sir Thomas, afterwards Lord
Fairfax. The effigies are cut in Hazelwood stone, the male figure
being represented bare-headed, with thigh armour of six or seven taces,
and plain, ridged cuirass, characteristic of the Elizabethan period. The
lady is attired in a plain robe reaching to the feet, and has close-fitting
sleeves. A ruff is worn round the neck, and the cap or head-dress is
worthy ot note, as this varied much at different periods. The inscrip-
tion, which is in Latin, translated, reads :
A.I). 1620. SACRED TO THE MEMORY
Of the Hon. Thomas Lord Fairfax, Of Kllen, his most affectionate wife,
who, after he had discharged the the daughter of Robert Aske, Esq.,
various duties of war among; the descended from the Barons Clifford
French, Germans, and the Dutch, and Latimer, and mother of twelve
obtained his dismission from this children. After she had lived an
warfare of troubles, and after hav- example of piety for fifty-seven
ing attained the age of 80 years, years s''e placidly expired, being
during the halcyon days of Eng- taken from her human to her
land, he obtained celestial safety heavenly relations the twenty-third
the first of May, 1640. day of August, 1620.
Beneath the lady appears this panegyric :
Here Leah's fruitfulness, here Rachel's lie.iuty,
Here lyeth Rebecca's taith, here Sarah's duty.
On the east wall, above these effigies, is a monument erected to
Sir Thomas Fairfax, but it bears no inscription. Sir Thomas was
father of the above Lord Fairfax, and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth. He died in 1599. Another commemorates Col. Chas.
66
Fairfax, already mentioned, who lived at Menston Hall. On the north
side is a curious brass plate, depicting the cumbent figure of Palmes,
of Lindley, laid on a mattress, with the names of his ancestors to the
year 1297, in tree-form, with roundels rising from him. The inscription
in Latin tells us :
No figment of the herald's craft, nor venally procured,
These ancient monuments declare a race of worth assured.
Within this Church are many Lindley's laid :
Here exequies o'er the last Palmes were said.
Vain and uncertain was their tame ; for when
Has ancestry alone ennobled men.
Yet virtue blooms like palm-trees branching' wide,
And gifted souls no sepulchre can hide.
Anno D'ni 1593.*
There are also several monuments to the Fawkes' of Farnley, the
oldest being to Thomas Fawkes, armtger, who died in 1626. One
pays a fitting tribute to the memory of Francis Fawkes, Esq., M.P. for
Knaresbro', who died in 1747, and of Margaret, his wife, one of the
daughters and coheiresses of John Asycough, Esq., only son of Sir
Wm. Ayscough, Kt. Another in the choir commemorates Ayscough
Fawkes, Esq., who died in 1771, unmarried, and another is to Francis
Fawkes, Esq., of Farnley Hall, who died July i7th, 1786. He married
Christiana, only daughter and heiress of Wm. Wilkinson, Esq., of
Newall Hall, and dying without surviving issue, left the bulk of his
fortune to Walter Hawksworth, Esq., of Hawksworth Hall. Another
monument, bearing a long inscription, is dedicated to the last named.
He assumed the name of Fawkes, and was born at Hawksworth Hall
in 1746, removed to Farnley Hall in 1786, which he rebuilt, and died
there October i7th, 1792. In the choir is a marble tablet inscribed to
Maria Fawkes, who died December loth, 1813. There is a portion of
an old memorial tablet (date about 1640) to Wm. Vasasour, Esq., of
Stead Hall in the township of Burley. Mary Pulleyn was his sole
heiress, and there is in the choir a tablet erected to Thomas Pulleyn,
Esq., of Burley Hall, who died in 1759 (see BURLEY). Another stone
tablet commemorates Sir Robert Dyneley, Kt. of Bramhope, who died
in February, 1616. A small brass on the east wall of the Fairfax
chapel commemorates Anne, first wife of Sir George Wentworth, of
Woolley, who died in 1624. She was a daughter of Thomas, Lord
Fairfax (see page 65). There are also some other tablets to the families
of Wood, Lacon (connected with the Barkers of Otley, from whom
Viscount Halifax descends), Dunn, Fourness, Sheriton, and the Rev.
* A full description, with illustration, of the brass appears, in the Yorks. Aich.JL,
vol. xv., pp. 36-7.
67
Ilt'tiry Robinson (vicar); ;ilso much beautiful memorial glass to tin-
several families of Billam, Wilkinson, HartU-y, Trnnant, Whitaker, and
the Rev. Joshua Hart (vicar). The fine east window of five lights was
erected by subscription. There is also a beautiful font erected in 1868 to
the memory of Mrs. Ann Rhodes of Bramhope, by her son Mr. Francis
Darwin, of Creskeld Hall ; likewise some chaste standards and a very
handsome brass tablet bearing a list of the vicars, the gift of Mr. Wm.
Fison, of Greenholme. In addition to these numerous memorials and
objects of interest in the church, there are also now in the tower various
carved stones and relics illustrative of past history, to which I have
alluded in the narrative account of the parish. In 1885 the tower
opening was furnished with a suitable oak screen and the window filled
with a beautiful design in stain-glass, the whole cost being defrayed by
Mr. Win. Fispn, of Burley. I may also mention that in his diary for
the year 1748, Sir Walter Calverley, Bt, states that he subscribed three
guineas towards the new bells for the church, which (excluding the old
metal) cost ,£230. In 1782 eight bells were obtained at a cost of
,£384, and the old bells were sold for ^260.
A mediety of the church belonged to the prebendary of South
Cave, who was rector of the mediety and had half the tithes thereof,
which he usually let to farm for the rent of ,£39 per annum. The
other mediety was bestowed by Roger, Archbishop of York (1154-81)
with other benefices on the chapel of St. Sepulchre, York, and in 1258
Archbishop Sewall gave the presentation to the vicarage to the sacrist
of the said chapel and his successors for ever, he to allow eight marks
per annum to be distributed amongst the poor of the parish.* In the
taxation of the tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices granted by Pope
Nicholas IV. in 1281 towards the expenses of an expedition to the
Holy Land, the vicarage of Otley is entered as parcel of the above
prebendary, and worth annually ^£6 i3s. 4d. The value of the other
mediety is not separately stated, being grouped with the benefices of
Thorp Arch, Collingham, and other ecclesiastical properties of the said
sacrist, as of the total annual value of ,£88 6s. 8d. In the King's
Books the vicarage is valued at £\$ is. 8d., and in Ecton's Liber
Valorum (1728) at ,£38 6s. 8d.
An imperfect catalogue of the incumbents has been furnished by
Torre, commencing with the year 1267, and to these I may add the
occurrence of the names of Adam and Henry, chaplains of Otley, who
appear as witnesses to charters of grants of land to Archbishop Gray,
* Sec Raine's Historians of the Chunk of York, iii. 176-180, also Snrt?es S»c. Pub.
56. p. 106. See also "Otley C'liaritk-s " pagv 71.
68
ca. 1220. The name of the first vicar on the ordination of the vicarage
has not been found. The list is as follows :
1258 — § 1512 Laurence Pecke (?)
1267 Galfridus cle Bridlington. 1532 William Stanley.
1288 William de Leverton. 1536 John Barker.
1319 Jolinde Brantingham. IT Richard Oliver.
1349 Robert Bonfaunt. 1554 —
— John Rovvcliffe. 1594 Will Hardisty.
1391 Richard de Otteley. 1596 Robt. Thompson.
1432 Robert Xewall. || 1606 Will Harrison.
f 1449 James Cams. — Alex. Robertson.
£ 1452 Richard Rudd. 1654 Joseph Stocks.
— Will de Skelton. 1656 John Furness.
1478 Will Taylour. 1662 Lancelot Dennison.
1502 Edw. Mayhew. ft 1673 Thos. Harrison.
1504 Richard Walker. JJ 1689 —
* The Black Death was raging about 1350 and half the clergy in Yorkshire
succumbed to it. There was probably more than one vicar between 1349 and 1391,
but see Tlwresby Soc. Pub. vol. viii., p. 28.
f 6 Oct., 1452, Jas. Carus, vicar, to be buried in the churchyard. Torre,
% 4 July, 1478, Richard Rudd, vicar, to be buried in the quire before the ambone
(pulpit, see page 64) Torre.
J5 1^32, Laurence Lake, vicar, to be buried before the picture of All Hallowes,
within the High Queare. Torre.
IT Richard Oliver was deprived by Queen Mary. See Yorks. Archl. Jl., vol. x.,
P- 95-
|! William Harrison, vicar, was buried at Otley, Feb. 28, 1648. On the outbreak of
the war he would appear to have resigned, and was succeeded in his office by ministers
of Puritanical proclivities. The Rev. Thos. Parkinson, vicar of North Otterington,
has courteously placed in my hands a MS. volume of sermons preached at Otley and
elsewhere during this stormy period, which once belonged to the Fairfax family and
was sold in the Phillips' Collections in 1898 (see BuRLF.v). From this volume it appears
that a "Mr. Ellison" was the regular minister at Otley in 1641-2. His name occurs as
preacher on March 2oth, 1641, and runs through the book till July 17, 1642. In the
Bradford Parish Church registers I find this entry among the burials: " 1642, June 4,
Hanna, d. of Mr. Ellison, Minister, Otley."* He preached at Otley on the following
day. Bradford at this time was a stronghold of the Parliament, and had ejected its
Royalist vicar, the Rev. Francis Corker, who subsequently joined the king's garrison
at Pontefract, and had two horses shot under him. He was taken prisoner at Gains-
borough and thrown into Lincoln goal, from which he made his escape. His name
appears in the same MS. vol., under date 13 July, 1642, as having preached at Calverley.
Puritan ministers occupied most of the local pulpits at this time, and the names of Mr.
Ellison, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Belwood, Mr. Clarkson (of Bingley), Mr. John Furness and
Mr. Clapham, appear as the preachers at Otley, Weston, and Denton, in 1641-2.
" " Alex. Robertson is described in the records of Otley Grammar School for 1652,
as "present incumbent of the perpetual vicarage of Otley." This was when Cromwell
held the reins of government. In 1654 Joseph Stocks appears as vicar, and in 1656
John Furness (sec last note) occurs as vicar.
H' Thomas Harrison, vicar, was buried at Otley, Dec. 2ist, 1688.
Ji In Oliver Heywood's Register for Coley Chapel there is entered "Mr. Farran,
vicar of Otley, buried Dec. 2ist, [1688?] a fat man, aged 52." Cannot this have
reference to the Rev. Timothy Farrand, who was minister at Bolton Abbey, and from
1683 to 168^, vicar of Skipton, where he died? He was buried at Skipton, Nov. i2th,
1685.
69
1692 Laurence Hentham. * 1786 James Bailey.
1701 Thomas Dadc. 1816 Hv. Robinson, M.A.
* 1708 Henry Humphrey. 1834 Ay-rou^h Fawkes, M.A.
1744 Thomas Dawson. £ 18-7 Joshua Hart, 15. A.
1746 Joshua Crowther. i,Hf>5 S. R. Anderson, M.A.
1750 Christ. Aleoek. i.SS.S R. M. M. < -haneellor, M.A.
| 1761 Henry WiNon. « i,X()o John T rower, M.A.. K.I).
178.2 Ceorge Hatlield. iKoS (I. I'erry H. Frost, M.A.
The registers of the church commence with the year 1562, and the
first two volumes were some years ago transcribed by the then vicar,
the Rev. S. R. Anderson, and it is to be hoped that the lately-formed
Yorkshire Parish Register Society will take these valuable registers in
hand with a view to their publication. Many items of interest may be
gleaned from them respecting local families, trades, events, and a
variety of circumstances reflecting the manners of the past three
centuries. The records of excessive burials in certain years, notably in
1604, when 10,000 persons in York alone died of an infectious sickness,
shew that Otley did not escape this virulent epidemic. Also during the
stagnation in the woollen trade after the Civil Wars, when it was
ordered that no one was to be buried in linen as heretofore, but in
woollen, we find an instance at Otley of a party preferring to pay the
statutory fine, which was a penalty of ^5, half of which was given to
the informer and the other half to the poor of the parish where the
person died. The great flood of 1673 's a'so referred to under date
September nth, when the Wharfe ran up in a direct line to Hall-Hill
Well, and Otley Bridge and most of the water-mills in the dale were
overturned and swept away. At that time the mills at Pool were
largely constructed of wood, which caused them to float, and as the
register relates, "carried them down whole just like a ship."**
Amongst the many papers which I have examined in the vestry
there is a terrier of glebe-lands and other possessions of the church in
* See Parkinson's Lays and Leaves of the Forest, p. 188.
f A tablet in this church commemorates this vicar, who died Der. 14, ij.Si. He-
was the second son of Mathew Wilson, Esq., of Eshton Hall, and grandfather of Sir
Mathew Wilson, Bart., M.P.
%. He died in 1816, and was interred with his family at Guiseley. See Yorksh.
An III. Jl., vol. vi., p. 90.
S For a biographical notice of Mr. Hart, see Taylor's Supplement to Leeds Worthies,
pp. 608-9 &c.
17 Mr. Trower was elected to the 2ist honorary canonry in the Cathedral Church
of Ripon, in May 1896. He died Feb. 6th, 1898, and was interred at Farnley.
Mr. Frost was vicar of Christ Church, Upper Armley, Leeds, from iS88 to 1898.
* The mills of Pool are mentioned in an inquisition taken at York in 1279 as
yielding with other thing's there an annual rental of sos. to the Lord Archbishop of
York, and the said lord is bound by his charter to defend them against whomsoever it
be. — Yorks. Arch.JL, Record Ser. xii., 188.
70
1748, wherein is mentioned the vicarage-house, a barn, and an orchard
lying on the north side of the house, and containing by estimation
three roods of ground. The old vicarage on the north side of the
churchyard is now occupied by Mr. Edmund Walker, but the orchard
was cut down when Messrs. Walker built their printing works on the
site about forty years ago, and the old tithe-barn was pulled down
perhaps long before. Up to about twenty years ago the^curfewjbell
used to be tolled by the parish clerk daily at 6 a.m. in summer and
7 a.m. in winter, as well as at 8 in the evening. Formerly, too,
there was an old custom in the town (when everybody knew
everybody else) of collecting money on the occasion of a death, which
was either given to the bereaved family or was spent in a feast on the
day of the funeral. This collection was known as the " dead brief,"
and the sum usually subscribed was a shilling. The custom was long
ago discontinued. Another old custom was for the churchwardens
with their rods of office to visit all the public houses on Sunday
mornings in order to see that no drinking was going on during divine
service. They usually set out on this errand before the reading of the
first lesson. Mr. Jeremiah Garnett, aged 81, tells me he well remembers
as a boy going round with his father, who was a churchwarden, when
they turned out one " Sailor Tom " and a man named Wheelhouse,
who were put in the stocks just inside the church gates.
The most conspicuous memorial in the well-filled churchyard is a
facsimile in miniature of the celebrated Bramhope Tunnel, erected as
the inscription tells —
In Memory of the unfortunate men who lost their lives while engaged in the
construction of the Bramhope Tunnel of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, from 1845 to
1849. This tornb is erected as a Memorial, at the expense of James Bray, Esq., the
contractor, and of the agents, sub-contractors, and workmen employed thereon.
"I am a stranger and sojourner with you ; give me a possession of a burying
place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
"Of those eighteen upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell and slew them, think ye
that they were sinners above all the men in Jerusalem ? I tell you, nay ; and except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
There are other memorials and epitaphs of general interest to
those who chose to spend a quiet hour among these silent records.
One of the most interesting, and one which speaks eloquently for the
seductive scenery of Otley, commemorates a Dr. John Ritchie, who led
a hazardous sea-faring life and made journeyings between many lands.
Having achieved honour in his capacity of surgeon at the siege of
Porto Bello, in South America, he at length retired from active service,
and travelled leisurely through many counties of England for the
purpose of fixing on some beautiful spot where he might pass his days
in peaceful retirement. Coming into the valley of Wharfe, and being
much impressed with the situation and surroundings of Otley, his
choice was at once fixed, first at Bramhope, and soon afterwards at
Otley, where he passed his remaining days. He lies in the south-east
of the churchyard, and his epitaph reads :
Here rest the remains of John Ritchie, gentleman, who migrated in lull hope of a
better life, from (hi-; terraqueous M-ene of fluctuating trouble, May 151)1, 1780.
I'Yoin Torrid Climes by nautic Art conveyed
I sought the refuge of a peaceful Shade,
Oft in the tumult of the broken Wave
I votive call'd, when Heaven vouchsafed to save
Here all is calm ; ye idly vain ! deduce
The pointed moral to salvation's use
Tired of this mortal toil, Debate and Strife
I rise atoning- to triumphant Life.*
The Free Grammar School was founded in 1602, by will of Thomas
Cave, of Wakefield, and King James I. granted a charter for the same,
and added the name of his son, the Prince of Wales, and his arms to
to the title and seal of the school. The motto on the seal is Deum
Pare, Tomo Cave (Fear God, and mind thy book), being a punning
allusion to the founder's name. A small estate situated at Landmoth,
near Northallerton, was purchased and afterwards sold for an annuity,
yielding £26 per annum. The school was continued till Midsummer,
1874, when it was closed, as owing to its limited endowment and other
defects, it was never a very flourishing institution. In August, 1883,
the premises were sold for ,£800, and the trustees have allowed the
income to accumulate with the object of founding scholarships in
connection with institutions devoted to higher education, tenable by
Otley boys. It may be mentioned that Thomas, Lord Fairfax, of Civil
War renown, was one of the trustees of the old school. Mr. Christopher
J. Nevvstead, of Otley, hon. sec. to the governors, has in his possession
an original minute-book, containing many particulars of interest relating
to the school from its foundation.
The following particulars of local charity bequests were compiled
by the vicar and churchwardens in 1862, from ancient documents and
other authentic sources.
THE OTLEY CHARITIES.
The Thorp-Arch Dole £2 135. 4d.
The Hooton Pagnell Dole... ... ... ... ... £2 133. 4d.
The Rectors of the above-named places are bound, by Letters Patent of Queen
Elizabeth, dated 1588, to pay out of the lands, tithes and profits of the said Rectories
the sum of ^5 6s. 8d. yearly to the poor of Otley, for ever. The Thorp-Arch Dole is
* John Ritchie, the younger, of Otley, linen draper, was co-executor of the will of
Benj. Kendall, of Otley, tanner, dated 3ist May, 1777.
Dr. Ritchie left a son, who was father of Joseph Ritchie, the African explorer, and
a daughter who never married. She was one of the Rev. John We>ley\ ino-t intimate
friends, and the eminent divine bequeathed to her his gold seal and other personal
mementos of his friendship.
72
paid by Teale and Appleton, Solicitors, Leeds ; and the Hooton Pagnell, by Beckett
and Co., Bankers, Leeds. The Charity Commissioners have awarded to the poor of
Burley 123. 3%d. yearly, to be paid out of the above, and 35. 6d. out of the Saxey's
Charity. The above doles are distributed every Christmas Day.
THE SAXEYS* CHARITY.
In the year 1614, Hugh Saxey and Dorothy his wife left .£30, which was lent
formerly to young' tradesmen at 5 per cent. ; but in the year 1724 it was invested in
five cottages and croft adjoining', called Plum Tree Garth, situated in Cross-Green,
Otley. The interest, 3os. , is paid out of the rent of Plum Tree Garth, and distributed
on the 7th day of April, or the Sunday after, as follows : — To twenty poor women, is.
each ; the Vicar, 8s. ; the Clerk, as.
THOMAS BARKER'S CHARITY.
Thomas Barker, Esquire, by will dated 2nd April, 1724, gave to the Church-
wardens and Overseers of the Poor of Otley, and their successors, the yearly sum of
505., to be paid quarterly, free of all deductions, out of the rents and profits of his
close, called the Calf-houses Close, in Burley ; which 50*. he directed should be
distributed the next Sunday after his death, by the Churchwardens and Overseers of
the Poor of the town of Otley, for the time being", and their successors, as follows : —
That they should every Saturday night or Sunday morning buy twelve penny loaves
of good and substantial household bread, which they should distribute in such
proportions as they should think fit, among the poor housekeepers and poor of the
town of Otley only as should repair and come on Sunday to the divine service in
the morning at the Parish Church of Otley, and stay there all the time till the divine
service and sermon be done ; and he charged the owner of the said closes with the
payment of the said 5os., and in default in payment of the said quarterly payments for
six days after any of the days on which the same ought to be paid, he empowered
the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor for the town of Otley, for the time
being, or any two of them, to distrain for the same. This rent-charge is now paid
by the Rev. Charles K. Armstrong, Hemsworth, near Pontefract.
PLUM-TREE GARTH.
This land was purchased in or about 1725, with money supposed to have belonged
wholly or in part to the poor of Otley, with the addition of Saxey's charity fund. It
contains 2 R. 27 I'., and is let to the Surveyors of Highways at the yearly rental of £4.
THE BOSTON DOLE.
William Jenkinson, of Boston, Lincolnshire, Alderman, gave, by will dated
"October i8th, 1642, out of his lands on the Erode Field, to the poor people of Otley,
where he was baptised, 405. in the year for ever ; and 403. to the poor of Burley, where
he was born and brought up, to be given them against every Christmas. The amount
is received by the National Provincial Bank of England, Boston, and is due on the
loth of December. The amount is payable by the Mayor and Corporation of Boston.
MRS. BARKER'S CHARITY.
The sum of £10, left by Mrs. Barker for the poor of Otley, was lent to the
Overseers, and expended by them in building the old Workhouse. The Overseers
have always paid IDS. yearly for its use.
THE WORKHOUSE COTTAGES AND PINFOLD.
This property adjoins Plum-Tree Garth, and is let to the Overseers for 255. a year.
The cottages were purchased with Plum-Tree Garth in 1725, but the ground where the
Workhouse stands seems to have belonged to the poor from a much earlier period.
LAMB'S CHARITY.
Left by Mary Hird, of Otley, in the year 1733, and originally consisted of £20, or
interest thereon, paid out of the rent of a field called " Fitters." A release, dated
1792, was given to Mr. William Lamb, of Arthington Nunnery, on payment of the
principal sum, together with six years' arrears of interest. With this money the two
cottages at Well-Hill, in Westgate, were built, and they were let to the Overseers at
the annual rent of 265.
73
THK GARDEN AM) COTTAGES IN WIsM.AIF.
The garden contains i K. 20 P., and has belonged (o the poor lrom time
immemorial. It i> now occupied by Kdward Mawson, at the annual rent ot £$ is.
The cottages, two in number, adjoin the garden; they are occupied by two poor
persons who have usually been widows, and the occupiers receive each of them ys. a
year out ot the rent ot the garden. The privilege of nominating and placing poor
persons in the cottages appears to have been exercised by a family now represented
by two ladies residing at Aberford.
POOR FOLKS' CLOSE.
A close of land, situate in Burras'-Lane, Otley, containing 2 A. i R. 4 P., and now
let to Susannah Hannam, at the yearly rent of ^13 5*. Origin unknown. A House
in the Market-Place, Otley, occupied by Hannah Heighten, is charged with the annual
payment of 2S. 4d.
CAMBRIDGE ALLOTMENT.
i A. 2 R. 12 P. of the moor or common called Otley Chevin, set out in lieu of
common right in respect of the Poor Folks' Close in the year 1783, was sold to
William Mounsey, subject to the annual payment of £2 i6s. The rent is now paid by
William Walker, Publisher, Otley.
UPPER STEEL CROFT.
The house, garden and land at the bottom of Kast Chevin, belonging to the late
Rev. J. Horsfall, are charged with the annual payment of 6s. 8d.
LOWER STEEL CROFT, NOW CONSOLIDATED ANNl'lTIES.
The land, formerly charged with the yearly payment of 2os., is situated in Gay
Lane, Otley, and was redeemed by John Wilkinson, the owner, on the i^th of May,
1860. The amount, ,£31 125. 6d., was invested by the Charity Commissioners in the 3
per Cent. Annuities. The interest, 2os., is due in July, and is paid through the
Yorkshire Banking Co., Otley.
LITTLE COMMONS.
Land situate near the Wharfe, in Newall, now the property of Thomas Constable,
of Otley, Solicitor, is charged with the yearly payment of 8s.
CLAIMLANDS.
Two fields, situate on the Bradford New Road. The one on the north side of the
road is the property of William Ackroyd, Worsted-Spinner, and is subject to the
annual payment of 33. 6d. That on the south side of the road belongs to William
Brumfitt, Staymaker, and is charged with 25. 6d. a year.
PORTMOOR.
Three houses and yard, in Bondgate and Kirkgate, Otley, once the property of
the Akeds, afterwards of Frances Whitehead, William Moody, and William Read, and
now belonging to James Croft, William Thackeray, and Mary Wilson ; charged 8d.
each yearly.
RENT-CHARGES AND DOLES.
The following yearly sums are paid for the poor of the Township of Otley.
Information concerning them has been given above.
Annual
Payment.
Property Charged.
Lower Steel Croft
Little Common, Newall
( nvner or Person Liable.
John Chadwick.
Ditto.
068 Upper Steel Croft Joseph Green.
060 Claim Lands ... ... ... .. ... Ditto.
024 House in Market-place ... ... ... ... John Deighton.
020 House called Portmoor ... ... ... .. Wm. Reed and others.
o 10 o Interest of _£io left by Mrs. Barker .. ... Overseers of Poor.
Other particulars concerning these local benefactions will be found
in the Official Report of the Charity Commission, published in 1894.
74
The Nonconformist interest has for a long period been strongly
represented at Otley, and there are several large and handsome
chapels. The Society of Friends is probably the oldest denomination,
dating from the time of the local visits of George Fox, about 1658. In
1 66 1, Christopher Taylor, of Otley, was committed to gaol for attending
a meeting at the house of Ann Thurston, widow, of Whitechurch, in
Bucks.* In an old minute-book of the Friends I find a subscription
list was opened in 1779, for the purpose of raising funds for building a
Meeting House at Otley. f The old Meeting House stood in Cross
Green, and was pulled down about 1890 to make room for the Christian
Brethren Chapel, but the burial-ground of the Friends remains
untouched at the rear of the chapel.
The Wesleyans had a hard up-hill fight before they were received
in favour at Otley, and it is said they never assembled for worship
without being pelted with stones, or had other injury done to them.
But the cause of God, in whatever outward form, prospers, and so it did
at Otley. John Wesley came here as early as 1759, and in his Diary
he tells us that he preached to " an immense congregation," and that
next day (July i8th) he rode to Mr. Marshall's, at Guiseley, which he
describes as " The Capua of Yorkshire." He paid nearly a score visits
to Otley, on one occasion preaching the funeral sermon of his dear
friend Mr. Ritchie, in the Parish Church, and his signature also appears
in the Parish Registers as the officiating minister at a wedding in
the church on May 7th, 1788. A chapel was built in Nelson Street,
in 1771, and Wesley occupied its pulpit on one occasion in the
following year. A more spacious place of worship was erected in 1826,
and in 1876 the present large and well-built edifice was opened (the
foundation stone having been laid on March 7th, 1874, by Mr. Wm.
Lawson) in Boroughgate, at a cost of ,£7,000, and the old chapel was
transformed into a Sunday School. Otley, like Bingley, was originally
in the Keighley Circuit, but was made head of a Circuit in 1790,
covering a very wide area. The Circuit of Pateley Bridge was formed
out of it in 1811.
The Independents are also an old and influential body at Otley,
founded in the year 1821. Their chapel in Bridge Street was built in
1825, and afterwards enlarged.} In 1882 they erected spacious Sunday
Schools on a new site not far from the Bridge, and they are now
building on land adjoining [_the schools a very large and handsome
* Yorks. County Mag. (1890), p. 35,3.
f Vide the author's Old Bingley, p. 189.
£ See Miall's Congregationalism in Yorkshire (1868), p. 328,
75
chapel, which, when completed, will he one of the finest buildings of
the kind in the town ami district, if not in the kingdom.
Both the Baptists and Primitive Methodists owe not a little of their
initial success in Yorkshire to two natives of Otley. The Rev.
Thomas Dewhirst, of Otley, was one of the pioneers in the cause of
the Yorkshire Baptists, and largely through his efforts the first Baptist
Chapel at Gildersome was erected in 1707.* The Rev. John Flesher,
of Otley, was really the founder of the Primitive Methodist Society in
\\Vst Yorkshire, and preached at Silsden in 1821, where the first Circuit
was formed. f A number of earnest workers succeeded in establishing
an independent society at Otley, and in 1835 their first chapel was
erected in New Market. The congregation continued to increase, and
a large and handsome chapel was in 1874 built in Station Road. On
May 29th, 1897, the foundation stones of a new Sunday School were
laid near the chapel by Mr. J. Crossfield, Mrs. Hanson, Mrs. E.
Walker, and the School Superintendent, Mr. J. Simpson.
The Methodist New Connection (founded in 1799) built a chapel
in Westgate in 1856, and the Christian Brethren have a very neat
edifice on Cross Green, built about ten years ago on the site of the old
Friends' Meeting House, the latter being "nothing more than an old
house fitted up about thirty years since for their meetings.";}:
The Roman Catholics are also a numerous body in Otley,
consequent upon the large immigration of Irish peasantry and others
into England, many ot whom settled in this neighbourhood after the
terrible Irish famine of 1847. A year or two subsequently it was found
necessary to erect a church, and the present beautiful edifice dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin Mary and All Saints was then built almost
wholly at the cost of Mr. Thos. Constable and his sister. Through a
long and arduous period of 28 years the Rev. Father Kelly served the
mission at Otley as "priest, educationist, and friend," and in June,
1898, he was the recipient of a congratulatory illuminated address
presented by the congregation, together with a purse containing ^70.
The town presents many other interesting and suggestive features,
the old streets doubtless existing on the same lines as formed soon
after the Anglo-Saxon conquest. Kirkgate, Westgate, Clapgate (now
unfortunately changed to Court House Street )§, Bondgate, Borough -
.Sir liilhrou£-h and Ha*lam's History of the liaptist Church nt Cil<iers<rg}t'.
I .S'<v the author'* Old /ii>iffle\\ pp. 209-10 (with portrait of Mr. Flesher).
:;: \'ule MS. History of Wharfedale (1807).
is C'lapgate is no great distance from the river and an old ford-house may have
*tood somewhere in the vicinity. The A-S. claf>pan means to clap, and clepan, to call
or cry out as a warning- to travellers that the waters are out. I have met with thi?.
Clapgate near becks and rivers in other parts of Yorkshire.
76
gate,* and perhaps Gay Lane, being the oldest thoroughfares, and it is
in these localities we must look for vestiges of "old Otley." There is
now however, probably no building in the town, save the Parish
Church and the Black Bull inn, that can claim an antiquity of three
centuries. The oldest domestic tenement I have noted is a low mullion-
windowed cottage, dated 1637, on Cross Green (where the markets
were held a century ago)f ; but there are a couple of low thatched
cottages near the Manor House inn, that are equally, if not more
ancient — the last remaining links between ancient and modern Otley.
OLD THATCHED COTTAGE, OTLEY.
A century ago, the Court and Sessions were held in the old Assembly
room in Bondgate, which was afterwards used as a ball-room, and
* Perhaps A-S. Rurgeat. There is a Burgate Street in Canterbury, and Mr.
Maitland thinks it may imply the existence of a principal house (Domesday and
Beyond, p. 190). Though Mr. W. H. Stevenson ( ' Eng. Hist. Review, xii. 489) suggests
a "manorial burh, with or without jurisdiction."
f They were then removed to the present Market Place, where the old brick and
timber "Shambles" stood up to 1867. The first Fortnight Fairs, established in 1806,
were then held in the present Market Place; as many as 400 beasts and 1,300 sheep
being at that time brought together on the Friday Fair Days,
77
occasionally a band of strolling players would engage it for a night's
entertainment of the bucolic mind. In and about Bondgate (where the
servile tenants of Norman times no doubt resided) we have a number
of old inns, the Wool Pack, Bowling Green, Ai'ig of Be/Is, A'osf and
Crown, Cock and Hot tie, and Junction, all being within a bow-shot.
There are also other old hostelries, the White Swan, the Half Moon*
Black Bull, a picturesque Tudor building, having some coeval timber
and plaster panels at the east end, where the upper chamber is corbelled
out in characteristic ogee. Then there is the old White Horse (rebuilt),
a sign based on that ancient emblem of luck which figures in the old
Teutonic mythology, and whose counterfeit presentment appears on the
cliffs of Kilburn, among the Hambleton Hills, which may even be
seen on a fine day from the heights of Otley Chevinf. Gay Lane joins
Bondgate, and as the road and name appear to be very old I should
say they originated from the Anglo-Saxon geh, gd (pron. go], modern
German geh (pron. gay) gehen (to go), as to walk, a walk-way, a path,
whence A-S. gewaenan, to turn, to wind, as this old Gay Lane does in
true Anglo-Saxon fashion, towards old Leeds road, and an ancient right
of way from it up to the Chevin still exists close to the east side of
Webster's Leather Works. I shall not pretend to trace the root of the
word, but it is not unlikely it may have to do with the familiar words
gee-Mj>, uttered to horses when required to urge their pace. The latter
exclamation is undoubtedly as old as the Roman occupation; the
Roman soldiers inciting their short stalwart ponies to quicken their step
whilst dragging the military stores and baggage, would exclaim ur-gee;
and the same word is even continued by carters and others at the
present day, from the Latin urgeo, to go on.
There are some very old roads about Otley, that over the Chevin
used by the Romans travelling between Ilkley and Adel being no
doubt the most ancient. It was also by way of the Chevin that the
Abbot of Selby travelled to Skipton in 1345, as recorded a few pages
back. There were no carriages then; one must either ride on horseback
or walk, for it was not until the sixteenth century that waggons were
* At the Half Moon in Westgate the Otley Lodge of Freemasons (one of the oldest
in the world) used to hold its meetings about 1760. The first Yorkshire Lodge of
which there is any authentic record was constituted at Scarborougli on August 27th,
1729, as No. 59. See Riley's Yorkshire Masonic Lodges.
\ White horses were much esteemed in former times, and are often referred to by
old authors as types of pure breed. The old nursery rhyme "Ride a cock-horse to
Banbury Cross, to see a fine lady ride on a white horse," may also be instanced.
Chaucer's knight, Sir Topax, speaks of "Jennets of Spaync (of Arabian extraction)
that be so wyght," and in an inventory, dated 142,3, of Archbishop Bowet, who often
resided, as stated, at Otley, white horses are specially named. See also the author's
Riclimondshir? p. 465.
73
used for travelling purposes, and then but occasionally. Stage-coaches
began to run in the middle of the seventeenth century, but then only in
and about London. The roads almost all over the country were
dangerously narrow and wretchedly dirty, so much so that when Queen
Elizabeth rode into the city of London from her residence in Greenwich
sh§ was obliged to place herself on a pillion behind her Lord
Chancellor. There was also another danger, and that was from the
numbers of highwaymen and even highwaywomen who lurked about
the roads, and especially after the closing of the monasteries, when
thousands fell on a loose wayfaring life. One of these daring banditti
was the well-known " Mall Cut-Purse," her proper name being Mary
Frith (born 1585) who was as bold as any Turpin, a capital rider,
fearless, and dexterous with sword and pistols. She was a staunch
Royalist, and used to dress in male attire, in which guise we are told
she once surprised and took 200 gold jacobuses from our Wharfedale
veteran, Lord Fairfax, the Parliamentary General, on Hounslow Heath !
For centuries all traffic from Newcastle and the north in the direction
of Manchester, Liverpool, and Wales came through Ripon and Otley,
and then up the Chevin to Yeadon and Bradford ; the present road by
Hollins Hill between Shipley and Otley being comparatively recent.
An Act tor alterations in the latter road was obtained in 1830. In
1754 an Act was procured for repairing and widening the road from
Leeds to Otley and Skipton,* which was afterwards superseded by the
present excellent highway through Bramhope, now so much frequented
by cyclists, and in a former generation by the coaches. But it was not
without considerable opposition that the first wor<c of improving and
maintaining these roads was accomplished. The turnpike-riots of
1753-54 indeed, read like a romance in these days when no one
disputes the value of a well-kept highroad. But in June 1753, gangs
of men and lads sallied out from Otley, Carlton, and Yeadon, and
along with similar mobs from other places about Leeds, proceeded to
demolish the toll-bars and commit much other damage. Ultimately
the importance of the projected turnpikes was recognized, if not the
justice of the tolls, and between 1762 and 1774 no fewer than 45 2 Acts
were passed for the improvement of highways throughout the kingdom.
Otley has many reminiscences of these bustling times though it
was never a great coaching centre. The main driving road to the
north ran by way of Doncaster, Ferrybridge, and Wetherby, while the
coaches from Wakefield and Leeds to the north, travelled along the
road through Harewood to Ripley and Ripon. Passengers, however,
from London to Kendal, came up to Ferrybridge and thence to Leeds,
See Leeds Intelligence', July iith, 1755.
79
( Hley, and Skipton. At Otley the coaching-houses in 1800 were
ording to Gary's Itinerary, the Black Horse and the White Horse,
the latter being the sign of the well-known old coaching-houses at
York, Tadcaster, Leeds, and Bingley. In 1807 the famous Union
( o;u:h entered the road from Leeds and Kendal, passing through Otley,
and continued running till 1843, being then the oldest coach that
passed through the town. A second Leeds and Kendal flyer was the
well-known True Briton, which rattled through Otley for a long period,
namely, from 1816 to 1843. There was also another Union coach which
started running in 1842, between Leeds, Otley, and Ilkley. In May,
1822, the Defiance commenced running between Leeds and Ilkley
three times weekly, and went by way of Otley, stopping at the White
Horse. It lett the road in 1838. The Commerce, which superseded the
Hark Forward coach in 1833, ran for two short years between Leeds
and Ilkley, doing the journey in a couple of hours, and returning from
Ilkley in the evening. It went three times a week, but its route was by
Yeadon, Guiseley, and Burley, and not through Otley. This coach
was succeeded by the British Queen, which performed the same journey
and by the same route from 1835 to 1841.
In 1865, when the railway was brought to Otley, there were 1047
turnpike trusts in England and Wales, with 20,189 miles of road
supported by tolls. At this time there was a general suspension of the
tolls, though it was not till November ist, 1873, tnat the toll-bars
between Leeds and Otley were abolished, while those on the Leeds and
Harrogate Road were freed on January ist, 1867. The Leeds and
Ilkley railway was opened on August ist, 1865, and the line from
Bradford by Esholt, connecting Ilkley, Otley, and Harrogate, was
completed and opened in 1875. Mr. Jeremiah Garnett, of Wharfeside,
Otley, who is now in his 82nd year, took a very active part in
promoting the extension of the railway to Otley, and had many
interviews with the North-Eastern directors ; but Mr. Fawkes had
strong objections to the line passing, as it was proposed, through Caley
Park. A petition was then got up in Otley and forwarded to Mr.
Fawkes, but he declined to peruse it and wrote a spirited answer, to
which Mr. Garnett replied in a skillfully prepared pamphlet. I may
add that when the Otley Local Board was formed in 1864, Mr. Peter
Garnett was its first chairman, and when he died in 1865, Mr. James
Duncan succeeded him but retired the following year. The above
mentioned Mr._J_eremiah Garnett, son of Mr. Peter Garnett, was then
appointed chairman and ably discharged the duties of that office for 15
years, and retired from the Board in 1885.
The old Wharfedale capital, though now easily accessible by rail
and road, has always been to a great extent isolated from the main
8o
arteries of public traffic. To the summer day rambler, who loves a
quiet country town full of bygone memories, combined with the charm
of outward rusticity, this must prove an attraction rather than otherwise,
yet he must not expect to find the town a veritable ''Sleepy Hollow,''
basking in the sunshine of unchanging ways and wholly dependent as
of old upon its agricultural renown. The old mother town has put
forth her arms, and the sinews of her sons have shewn their strength.
This is amply evidenced by the expansion of her trade, and in the
increase of inhabitants; the population of the township being now
about 8,000. Every acre of the parish is now productive ; a large
portion of the waste having been taken in by Act of Parliament in
1777. At the end of last century, when the population of Otley did
not exceed 2,400 souls, a manufactory of cotton was established on the
Wharfe ; another for weaving calicoes was carried on by a Mr.
Merryweather, which together drew near a hundred workmen from
other places. Later the wool-combing and worsted spinning trades
were introduced, and the mills of Messrs. Duncan, Barraclough & Co.,
and Wm. Ackroyd & Co., now employ a large portion of the
inhabitants. Tanning, currying, and leather-dressing, printing (intro-
duced in 1813), and last but not least the paper-cutting machine and
printing machine trades have also been established. The last mentioned
has in fact long been regarded as the staple industry of the town, in
which nearly 2,000 hands are at present employed. Messrs. Dawson
\\vre practically the founders of this prosperous industry, which is still
carried on by them, as well as by other well-known firms, whose
turn-out is almost world-wide. In former times there was also a good
business done in the bit, stirrup, and silver-plating trades, carried on
principally at the old Silver Mills, near the East Chevin.
It appears there were cloth-weavers in Otley long before the
Parliament of Edward III. passed in 1328 the famous Measure and
Assize of Cloths, and the export duty on wool was raised to 4o/- per
sack. In some places, however, the trade was in the hands of certain
firms who had bought a monopoly from the lords of manors, to the
exclusion of others who could not engage in it without license of the
lord or the monopolist. This was the case in the extensive liberty of
the Duchy of Lancaster, where certain members of a family named
Walker, in Bradford, had early in the i4th century secured the trade
of dyeing and fulling wholly to themselves, so that no one might " carry
on the said trades, neither within the town of Bradford, nor within the
liberty of the lord Duke of Lancaster," without pain or penalty of
heavy fines. The over-stretching of cloth upon tenters and other
means by which the measure of cloth was apparently increased, led to
the passing of the Act above mentioned. The rolls for fifty years
Si
previously arc tiill ot indit tnn-nts against Yorkshire manufacturers tor
these fraudulent practices, and amongst them under the year 1275,
appear the names <>t Thomas de Abberford and Robert Doune, of
Otley, \vhieh shews that the woollen trade was established at ( Kley in
the i 3th century.
There were also walkers, or fullers, in Otley in 1378, and very
probably the old street still known as Walkergate marks the scene of
these early labours in the local cloth trade. I have not learnt that the
present Otley family of Walker are descended from this stock, yet the
grandfather of Mr. Edmund Walker, now of the Grange, was in the
worsted trade as a spinner and woolstapler at the old Silver Mills last
century, and his son William, who was born in 1795, laid the foundation
of the extensive business now existing under the style of Win. Walker
and Sons.
The town, as I have said, is steadily increasing in importance and
enterprise, and now issues two large weekly newpapers, the Wliarfedale
and Airedale Observer and the Wharfedale and Airedale Standard, both
of which are very widely circulated.*
But Otley has always been pre-eminently an agricultural town,
and its great farming-club, known as the " Wharfedale Agricultural
Society," is the oldest existing society in the United Kingdom.! Jt
appears to have originated trom a visit paid in 1804 to a model farm
at Holkham, Norfolk, owned by Mr. Coke, afterwards Lord Leicester.
The visitors were Mr. Jonas Whitaker, J.P., of Greenholme, Burley-in-
Wharfedale, and the Rev. Jas. Annitage Rhodes, J.P., of Horsforth
Hall, who took a great interest in all matters appertaining to farming,
and the result of their inspection was the suggested formation of a
society in Wharfedale for the encouragement and improvement of
agriculture. The matter was brought betore Sir Henry Carr Ibbetson,
Bart., of Demon Park, who entered heartily into the project. The late
Mr. Henry Whitaker, son of the above Mr. Jonas Whitaker, who died
September i7th, 1850, gives a lengthy account of the origin of the
society, and I cannot do better than quote from what he says :
My father went to Den ton Park and related to Sir 11. C. Ibbetson all particulars of
the interesting' visit to Holkham. The baronet quite concurred vvitli my father's views,
and it was arranged betwixt them that the largest landed proprietors in Wharledale
should be waited on, and the particulars of the scheme should be put before them.
11 Another Otley paper was tin Yorkshire Comet, first issued on Saturday, March
i bth, 1844 (\Vm. Walker), now defunct and rarely met with.
I " In our progress through the West Riding we could not learn, alter the
minutest enquiry, thai a single society subsisted for the improvement of agriculture.
We heard of three that were formerly established for that useful purpose, vi/., at
Sheffield, Uawtry, and Doncaster, but these for some time past have been discontinued."
Robert Hrown in the AYiwio of Agriculture in the MY.\Y Riding (ifyt)), p. _>^o.
82
This was done, and the result was the meeting which was held at the White Horse
Hotel, Otley, on Jan. 2nd, 1806, when the first agricultural society was formed, the
rules drawn up, and it was decided that there should be two shows held annually, the
first on Friday in Easter week, and the other in the last week of September. Sir
Henry Carr Ibbetson was appointed president ; Lord Harewood and Walter Fawkes,
Esq., of Farnley Hall, vice-presidents.
There were two shows held yearly for the first seven years, and since then only
one, in the springtime of the year. The first show was held on Friday in Easter week,
1806.*
Mr. Whitaker, whose father was one of the vice-presidents of the
society in 1812, afterwards proceeds to say:
In my recollection there used always to be a dinner held in a long room up .some
stairs at the White Horse hotel at Otley, on the day of the Wharfedale Agricultural
Show. The chaigc for each person was gs. or gs. 6d., and this included the fee for the
waiter, one bottle of wine, beer, &c. At these meetings some influential person acted
as chairman, such as Vasasour of Weston, Fawkes of Farnley, Lascelles, Geo. Lane
Fox, or Sir John Johnston, and in 1844 Lord Morpeth ; but the person who acted more
generally in that capacity was the Rev. James Armitage Rhodes, and it used to be
delightful to listen to the appropriate language in which he addressed the successful
candidate who had gained a prize. He gave two prizes for ploughing, in which he
took great interest, especially about the boys.
I well remember on one of the occasions going to the field to watch the
competitors. One of them was a little lad scarcely sufficiently tall to reach the stilts ot
the plough, and although he had to guide his team with reins as well, he carried the
head prize in the premium amongst the youngsters, so he did the year following, and
the third year as well. The Rev. J. A. Rhodes had made particular enquiries about
him, and found that his father was dead, that he lived with his grandmother, or his
widowed mother, and that he bore an excellent character, so he took great interest in
him. I shall never forget the kind address he made about him when he presented the
prize. He spoke so pathetically and in such telling language, that tears were coursing
down the cheeks of many persons who were at the table. The second time that this
boy gained the prize, Mr. Geo. Lane Fox was chairman, he mounted the lad on the
table and then exclaimed. "Look at him ; it is of such lads that Old England may well
boast, and of such we may well be proud!"
Many other incidents and anecdotes might be related of these
famous annual gatherings at Otley, but more particularly of former
times.f I have heard the following amusing story, which is a fair
sample of many more :
The chief officer of a Yorkshire yeomanry regiment while congratulating one of
the troops on its appearance, made a stirring allusion to the medals worn by some
armv veterans in the ranks. One of the men, a native of Wharfedale, afterwards went
home in a very thoughtful frame of mind, and next morning he came on parade with
several medals on his breast. Said the officer : "I didn't know you had been in the
regulars." "No, I ain't," said the man. "Well, how about the medals then, my good
fellow, they can't be yours?" The man promptly answered : "Can't they! Aye but
they be. My old coo won 'em all at Otley Show."
* Mr. Cobley says that for several years before this shows had been held by a few
farmers in the district
f An almost forgotten old local farm book is entitled "The Complete Cow Leech
or Cattle Doctor, being a treatise on the Disorders of Horned Cattle." By J. C.
Knowlson, who has been fifty-seven years in full business, "twenty at Skipton and
twenty-three at Otley." Printed and published at Otley by T. F. Bristow, Kirkgate.
1820. Demy 8vo, 120 pages. Price 4/6
The annual shows were formerly held in April but now take place
in May. and on May 5th to ytli, 1898, the centenary show was
celebrated, when the entries numbered 3,903, and the prizes offered
amounted in value to ,£1,625. In the November following, Mr.
Ayscough Fawkes, of Farnley Hall, who had been president of the
society since 1871, was presented with a handsome illuminated address.
Many a present or bygone event and custom might still be
discoursed upon had space permitted. There were the old horn-
blowing,* Easter and wedding customs, statute hirings, Valentine's Day
(Otley used to be a leading emporium in the manufacture of valentines),
Christmas and New Year's masquerades, riding the stang (the effigy
being usually burned in Cross Green), bull-baiting, cock-fighting (in
which the neighbouring gentry took great delight)!, badger baiting,
otter hunting, and the old fun of May Day. No one knows how long
Otley has commemorated the ushering in of blooming May, but certain
it is there was a May pole here in the days of the Merry Monarch, and
one of the finest May poles in England still graces the old Cross Green.
I have- mentioned the Anglo-Saxon gallows-tree at Otley, and among
the many attributes of that tree-of-sacrifice was the May pole — in some
places in Germany it is a living tree — associated in aftertimes as the
freer of evil and the emblem of gladness and plenty.^ But the
traditions of May indeed are mostly those of evil —
Married in May,
Ye'll soon decay,
is one old proverb, older even than Christianity. It is mentioned by
Ovid. It was written, prophetically enough, on the gates of Holyrood
Palace, when Mary, Queen of Scots, married Bothvvell.
But to turn to our Otley May pole. The present shaft is the
fourth that has been erected on the site within the last century. Its
predecessor was shattered by lightning on June i2th, 1871, but the
people of Otley having a wise regard for old traditions, raised the
present pole in the year following, making the occasion a general
holiday, that will long be remembered. It was the ist of May, 1872,
when farmers from the country and folks from the town, traps,
waggonettes, and people afoot came into Otley by hundreds and
* Among the Phillips MSS. (No. -10143) are abstracts of Deeds, £c., relating to the
close ot land called Bugle lug, situate on the Hurley side of Otley, between West Bu.-k
Lane and the Wharte.
I Sir Walter Calverley, of Ksholt, writes in his diary : "8 May (1699). 1 went to
the Cocking* at Otley, whither Sir Walter Hawkesworth came the night before and
stayed there three days. We lost the main battell to Mr. Vavasour." But on July
jjiid, 1700, they won the main at Otley against Mr. Vavasour.
£ See Keary's Vikings in. Western Chnstendvm (1891), pp. 36-39.
thousands. The day was bright, sunny and warm — a perfect May-
Day — and the old town looked its brightest, gay with flags, banners,
and festoons. Everybody seemed in the best of humour, and when
Mr. Fisher, chairman of the celebration committee, got up and
exclaimed : " I declare this May pole well and truly raised," a ring of
applause came from the assembled multitude and the band of the Otley
Engineer Volunteers struck up a lively tune. A grand procession was
then formed, headed by Superintendent Croft and a detachment of
police, followed by the band and the charming May Queen (Miss
Croft) attired in flowing white garments, wearing a gilded crown, and
mounted on a handsome pony gaily caparisoned. Then followed a
wherry bearing a platform which held thirty-three young girls, all
dressed in pure white and carrying garlands of flowers. Next came
the fire engines of the town, the carts and horses of the Leeds
Corporation (which were at that time engaged at the new reservoirs in
the Washburn valley), a number of other vehicles and horses with their
riders followed, each decorated with streaming ribands and banners.
As the procession passed through the principal streets and approached
the Parish Church, a hearty and merry peal rang from its time-stained
tower (O ! old church bells, what notes of gladness and of sadness have
ye not oft proclaimed !), and the mind was insensibly drawn, as one
linked the present with the past, to that silent God's Acre where
thousands of all ages lay entombed, who had in their day and
generation participated in the dear old May Day rejoicings. The
following beautiful poem pertinently recalls those happy scenes, and
is from the pen of the late Mr. Thomas Gregory, a native of Sheffield,
who was called to his rest only a few months ago. He was father of
Mr. Ernest E. Gregory, of Bingley, whose photographs of the old
crosses in Otley Church are engraved in this work.
LINES WRITTEN ON MAY DAY.
The breeze is fresh, the morning- keen ;
You'd hardly deem it merry May ;
And yet the apple trees are gay,
And all the fields a tender green.
They've crown'd the little maiden queen,
And made her beautiful with flowers,
Just moulded under April showers,
With gleams of sunshine shot between.
And she is lovlier to-day
For all that has been done and said
For all the blossoms garlanded,
And all the innocent display.
And when her eyes are dim, and gray
Her locks, this picture will appear
In colours marvellously clear,
In bright and brilliant array ;
85
And she will tell ot one ran- Ma\ ,
\Vhen (Hit upon the village J^rci I),
They ^athered to proclaim her queen
'Mill rustic spurt ami holiday.
Sweet maid ! and yet a^ain most -Wect !
Fair (lower! by Beauty's soil lips kissed ;
1 would not have your charms increased ;
They're tor the proud occasion meet :
Finnish that the same skilful Hand
Hath fashion'd each to suit the hour,
The maiden innocent ; the llower
All heart could wish tor, or demand !
These happy events are now things of the past, and one can but
reflect with fond regret that this should be so, especially when other
historic customs are fast dying out, and little remains to picture in our
humdrum daily lives the Merry England of long ago,
A whole volume might be written on the old Otley families from
the Conquest forward, many of whom are now extinct in the parish
and many have got dispersed in various and distant places. The old
local family called De Otley, which I have already mentioned, was an
influential one in bygone ages, some being freemen of the city of
York in the i3th and i4th centuries. A John Irenside, of Otley,
mercer, (a mercer at this time meant a dealer in all kinds of silk, linen,
cloth and canvas goods, but the Act of 1378 restricted mercers dealing
in nothing but "small goods," such as haberdashery and silk wares),
also appear in the list of freemen of York in 1333. The subsidy rolls of
Edward II. and Edward III., and the poll-tax lists of Richard II., also
furnish us with the names of many local families, some of whom are
represented in the parish at this day. Coming down to more recent
centuries we find among the names in the parish registers, those of
Fairfax (of Civil War fame), Fawkes (of Farnley), Ward, Thackray
(ancestral connections no doubt of the great novelist)*, Clarkson,
Wilkinson, Dawson, Walker, Maude, Barker, fThomas Barker in 1724
left money to the poor of Otley), Barber (James Barber, of Otley, voted
at York in 1741), Clapham, Jennings, Stubbs (most likely connected
with the Stubbs of Nidderdale, ancestors of the present Bishop of
Oxford), Benson (Dr. Wm. Benson, of Otley, 1778, of the same family
as Robert Benson, ist Lord Bingley), Garnet!, Fairbank, Longfellow
(of the same West Riding stock as the eminent poet). The subsidy
roll for 1523-4 mentions Richard Longfellow, of Otley, who contributes
2os. or more than double anyone else in the town. The Longfellows
were in Otley in the i4th century, and in the tower of Otley Church
there is a tomb-slab of this time, bearing an incised cross and a partly
* See the author's \idderdale, page 385.
• Kr
C^J.
86
obliterated inscription commencing : Orate p' a'ia [IIen]rici (or Ric[ard]i)
Langfelafw]. It is evidently the oldest existing memorial of the famous
American poet's ancestors. There were Longfellows also at Ilkley, a
little higher up the valley, and at a sale of old oak furniture at the
late Mr. Buckley Sharp's, in Bradford, May 1882, a carved oak chest
from an old farm-house at Ilkley was offered, which bore the following
inscription : —
We once were two we two made one,
We no more two through life be one,
while on the first panel was cut: ION LONGFELLOW AND MARY ROGKKS WAS
MARRYED YE TENTH DAYE OFF APRIL ANNO DM. 1664.
Then we have in the Otley Registers, Curtis and Hird. Christopher
Hird, of Otley, married Mary, daughter of Robert Leach, who built
in 1695, (the year she was born), the picturesque ivy-clad house at
Micklethwaite, in the parish of Bingley. '
Mr. Justice Barker, of the family above mentioned, resided in
Kirkgate, and laid the foundation of a family of considerable distinction.
One of his daughters, Caroline, married Charles Wood, of Bowling
Hall, an eminent naval officer, who died in 1872 of wounds received in
action. He was grandfather of Sir Chas. Wood, Bart, 33 years M.P.
for Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1846, First Lord of the
Admiralty from 1855 to 1858, and subsequently Secretary of State for
India. He was created Viscount Halifax in 1866. Mrs. Wood (nee
Barker) was also aunt to the late Win. Busfeild Ferrand, Esq., M.P. of
St. Ives, Bingley; her daughter, Caroline, having married in 1800, Wm.
Busfeild, Esq., of Upvvood, who for 14 years was M.P. for Bradford.*
Mr. Robert Tennant, formerly M.P. for Leeds, was born at Otley
in 1828, his mother being a daughter of Mr. James Shaw, also a native
of Otley. He was the second son of Mr. John Tennant Stansfield
Tennant, J.P., D.L., of Chapel House, Kilnsey, of a family long
resident in the Craven Dales. Mr. Tennant in addition to his
Parliamentary duties, in past years took an active part in other spheres
of public life and held many important offices. He took an especial
interest in the Sardinian question as it affected international trade, and
wrote a volume entitled Sardinia and its Resources, published in 1885,
and dedicated to the King of Italy. He also wrote a valuable little
book entitled British Jamaica and its Resources, based on a personal
visit, which contains a map and a chapter on the Venezuela boundary
question. He was at one time a very large landowner in his native
county, being possessed ofjiye or six estates in Yorkshire, including
three or four parishes in the North Riding. In Scotland, too, he owned
an extensive estate at Auchnashellach, in county Ross, where he once
* See the author's "Old Bingley."
v \A-V/\/A/AA4*>*_>v- CH/wt^, -
8?
entertained tin- Print <• of Wales lor a couple of days' shooting; and his
possessions also included a large property at Rose Hall, Sutherlandshire,
and the Ballochulish Slate Quarries. In conjunction with Sir Theodore
Martin he promoted the Callander and Ohan Railway, and was himself
one of the directors. Mr. Tennant. who died in March, 1900, married
in 1850, Henrietta, daughter of the late Mr. Jeremiah Oarnett, of Otley
and Manchester. She died May 9th, 1899, and was interred at Forest
Church, Horsham, Sussex.
Otley claims to be the birth-place of another eminent worker in
the public service, namely the Rt. Hon. Wm. Lawies Jackson, now
Conservative M.P. for Leeds. He is the son of the late Mr. Wm.
Jackson, of Leeds, of the well-known firm of tanners and leather
merchants, and was born at Otley in 1840. He has filled several
important Government offices, including the Chief Secretaryship for
Ireland. Though striving with untiring xeal in the cause of his party,
Mr. Jackson is by no means blind to other interests, and his liberal
and broad-minded views are recognized by all parties.
Mr. John Hope Shaw, also a native of Otley, was one of the most
useful and prominent men in the city of Leeds in recent times. He
was uncle to Mr. Robert Tennant, M.P., and was three times Mayor of
Leeds (1848-53). He was worthily honoured by laying the foundation-
stone of the Leeds Town Hall on August tyth, 1853, which noble
building was completed in 1858 and opened by Her Majesty the Queen
on September yth. Mr. Shaw died in 1864, aged 72. The Shaws
were an old race of surgeons, and I have already had occasion to
mention Dr. Thomas Shaw, whose little book on Wharfedale was
published in 1830. Dr. Shaw in his old age, developed a good
deal of dry humour, and I have been told that on one occasion he was
very anxious to obtain a human skeleton, and it was ascertained that he
was prepared to pay a fair price if one could be obtained. Three or
four well-known Otley topers resolved that the doctor's wish should be
gratified. After getting their skins full they began to wager who should
be the corpse. The bad luck fell on one Toby Ramshavv, a local
lamplighter. Toby, in a very fuddled condition, was put into a sack
and told not to move a muscle or they would lose the reward. It was
late at night when they arrived with their burden at the doctor's. The
doctor met them in the surgery and seeing the sack containing the
"corpse" realized their business at once. They sat down and for a few
moments they looked blankly and silently around as if they w^ere at a
funeral. The doctor thought he saw a slight movement of the bag and
in order that he might be fully convinced ordered his servant to bring
the men a bottle of whisky. They drank it leisurely and Toby did as
he was bid and never stirred a limb, But at last when the doctor called
for a second bottle, poor Toby could stand the incarceration no longer,
and boldly forcing his way out of the sack, stood up and exclaimed with
an oath, "I mun hev my sup," when there was rare merriment in which
the shrewd old doctor joined heartily.
DR. JOHN SPENCE.
At the same time as the Shaw's, the Spences were surgeons at
Otley. Dr. John Spence is still well remembered, and had more than
a local reputation. He was a very skilful operator, and was the first
man in England who performed the operation of excision of the elbow
joint. His son Dr. Wm. M. Spence, was for many years connected
89
with the old Ilkley Bath Charity. Many other native worthies might
IK mentioned whose names are written on the scroll of fortune or of
tame. Spare cannot be found for all. Mr. John McLandsborough,
whose death occurred on February 24th, 1900, was born in the town on
May 3rd, 1820. He became a civil engineer and railway contractor,
D«, RICHARD GARNETT, C.B.
and was proficient in many sciences, being C.E., F.R.A.S., F.R.M.S.,
F.G.S., &c. His father, Mr. Andrew McLandsborough, for some
time kept a draper's shop in Kitkgate.
Probably one of the best known Otley worthies was the_Rey.
Richard Garnett, who died in London in 1850, and belonged to
J-j-ft/^rx^'
Vww- vb+Jj <*
is^e<^ti*^\ "d y^. ^^-nn
9°
the Otley family which has been for a long period connected with the
old Paper Mills. Mr. Garnett from being usher in a school at Southwel
rose to the important position of keeper of printed books in the British
Museum. He was a distinguished linguist and possessed an exceptionally
wide knowledge of English and foreign literature. The same post was
eventually obtained by his son Richard Garnett, L.L.D , C.B., whc
resigned the position early in 1899, after forty years honourable service
in our great National Library. Dr. Garnett, who is descended from the
Garnetts of Faweather, near Bingley, is a vice-president of the Librarj
Association of the United Kingdom, and has contributed numerous
Important articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Dictionary oj
National Biography. He is also a linguist and poet of excellent repute
and author of several volumes. In 1862 he published Relics of Shelley
and in 1880 and 1882 Selections from Shelley's Poems and Letters. Dr
Garnett's knowledge of poetry, literature and languages, is so extensive
that he may almost be regarded as a modern Milton. He wrote the
important biographies of Carlyle, Emerson, and Milton, in the Grea,
Writer series, and more recently has contributed the article on Professoi
Blackie for Kaye's Leading Poets of Scotland. For other informatioi
respecting the Garnett family, see Annals of Yorkshire vol. 2, page 46c
and vol. 3, page 339, &c. A portrait of Dr. Garnett accompanies thi;
notice, and for which I am indebted to Mr. W. M. Jackson, of th<
" Library of Famous Literature," London.
CHAPTER IV.
AROUND OTLEV.
Delightful scenery and associations — Bishop Tunstall's praise— Local geological
formation— View from the Chevin — Otley Bridge— Newhall Old Hall — Local
families— Interesting relics at Xewall Hall— Otley Union — A centenarian.
HARMIXGLY situated in a broad and rural vale is the
old Saxon town of Otley. Proudly rise the rocky heights
of the Chevin, forming a noble background to the
scene, otherwise the aspects of the place can scarcely
be described as romantic ; they are rich and pastoral.
When the hawthorn is in bloom, and the golden meadow-bolts or lush
marsh-mat i golds gild the greening pastures, and the lark's voice
is heard from afar in the bright sky ; while quickening field and
woodland echo the winsome notes of the cuckoo and all Nature is
filled with a joyous hope, then is the time to view the beauties of this
historic vale. Here around us are swelling pastures, hedgerows and
woodlands, winding old lanes full of life and joy to the naturalist ;
noble parks with maivy_ a grand old mansion, — the type ot English
aristocratic life, on which Old England founds her great traditions, —
ancient farmsteads standing amid their paternal acres, the nurseries of
many a strong and broad-minded dalesman who has honored his family
and the State, while many a hoary fane with dark stone tower marks
the story of life in the past. It is not surprising, therefore, that this
ideal English landscape, which poet and painter have so much praised,
should be pronounced by the good Bisjiop Tunstall, who visited Otley
in the time of j-Ienry VIII., to exceed in beauty everything he had
seen during his travels in France and Italy.
In order that we may obtain a comprehensive idea of the
surrounding country let us first climb to the summit of the Chevin
(925 feet). This we may do by way of Gay Lane, a thoroughfare that
I have already suggested as being a very ancient egress of the town,
Otley people are proud of their Chevin, and well they might be
considering it has a human history that dates back full two thousand
years, while the view from it is absolutely unrivalled in this part of the
kingdom. I have explained the ancient Cymric origin of the name
(pronounced Keven in Wales) and there is also a Chevin in Derbyshire,
of like meaning. Now let me say something of its still earlier history.
92
of the rocks that compose it. We are here on the millstone-grit
formation which runs along the Pennine Chain from Derbyshire ; its
lowermost bed, the Kinderscout Grit when it reaches the neighbourhood
of Skipton, dips in a south-easterly direction under the Third or
Middle Grit of Addingham and Ilkley Moors. Northwards the Kinder
Grit crosses the Wharfe and occupies all the high ground around
Beamsley and the uplands about Denton, Askwith and Stainburn to
the conspicuous eminence of Almes Cliff. The Third Grit forms the
grand scenic escarpment on the south side of the Wharfe from
Addingham onwards to Otley, and is overlaid by the Rough Rock
which forms the summit (at over 1300 feet) of Rumbalds Moor. The
intrusion of this bold massive grit into Wharfedale, which in places has
almost the hardness and character of granite,* is the cause of the
deflection of the river from a north and south direction to an easterly
flow towards Harewood and York. This Third Grit, forming the ridge
of Otley Chevin and locally known as the " Bramhope Grits," keeps
along the south side of Wharfe eastwards as far as Harewood, and at
the old historic castle of Harewood it turns northward, and then
making a south-easterly clip is lost beneath the magnesian limestone
to the west of Collingham. The regular sequence of these rocks,
rising from the Kinderscout Grit to the Rough Rock, or topmost bed of
the millstone grit series, proves that the valley at Otley is not formed
on a line of fault, but is a valley of denudation, worn down by the slow
action of rain, frost, and the atmosphere, — in a word it is the result of
Time. The beds of shale form a base for the drainage of rain-water,
and there are several excellent springs on east Chevin ; the water
being collected in two small reservoirs from which for a long period
it was conveyed into the town by means of elm-wood pipes.
Since the tumbling of the rocks brought about the sudden
alternations of sun and frost at the close of the Ice Age, little change
must have taken place in the appearance of this grand old Chevin
down to thirteen hundred years ago, when the keen-eyed Celt, in his
garment of deer-skin, f kept a sharp look-out for the pirate Saxon who
seized the native tilth, and pitched his tent in the valley below, and
save for some enclosure and planting, the Chevin remains almost the
" Much of this rock has been sent to London for foundation work. It was
employed for the foundations of the present Houses of Parliament.
f Perhaps Pelstone Crag-, situated on the estate of Peter Musgrave, Esq., at the
east end of Chevin, has something- to do with ancient kins-dressing-, as pcell, \-<
A.-Saxon for a pelt or skin, though its presence in Celtic territory rather suggests an
origin in the Celt, pil (pile), a defence or fortress, whence the peel-towers of later days.
Chaucer, in the House of Fame, uses the word pell in this sense. The crag here forms
a precipitous face with a tract of saddle-shaped land at the top, naturally well adapted
for a defensive site.
93
s;une to-day. During the threat of the French invasion a century ago
it was our of the chosen beacon-signals, and a beacon was erected in
1803, which was to receive its warning from Bi-;misk-\ la-aeon and
send it on to Scarcroft Moor and Almes Cliff.
What a glorious view is revealed as we stand here on a fine day,
and how tiny seem the houses and passing carriages in the roads far
below ! Sometimes at starlight I have stood on this old British
promontory and looked down into the Saxon town and have been
reminded of the night-view from the Swiss Righi on the distant lights
of Lucerne. Xo one passing over the Chevin could forbear admiring
its grand far-reaching view. Even Thoresby, writing in 1702, at a
time when little interest was taken in scenery, speaks of the "noble
prospect" from this point. The poet Gray, in 1769, admired the scene,
too; while Edward Dayes, in his Tour Through Yorkshire (1825) says
" my mind revelled in perfect voluptuousness, and all the faculties of
my soul were absorbed in the contemplation of this most delectable
spot." Some idea of the varied prospect may be gathered when it is
stated that not less than 2,000 square miles are embraced within the
area of vision. Looking almost due east we may sight the twin-towers
of York Minster twenty-five miles away,* whilst with the aid of a
field-glass the famous White Horse of Kilburn on the Hambleton
Range (seven miles south-east of Thirsk) may be plainly descried,
thirty-two miles distant as the crow flies. For this interesting object
you should look to the east of the Beckwithshaw Road, about
one-fourth of the distance between that road and the Great Almes Cliff.
To the south-east the clock of the Leeds Town Hall, and the Grammar
School and spires on Woodhouse Moor may be detected, while more to
the east, looking down the luxuriant vale, the noble mansion of
Harewood and the long Arthington Viaduct are conspicuous. Turning
to the west we have the heathery heights of Rumbalds Moor, with the
singular cone-like summit of Flasby Fell beyond Skipton. Further
north rim the craggy fells of Craven, terminating in Great Whernside,
above Coverdale, which is frequently covered with snow in late spring,
and for this reason may be readily distinguished when all the
surrounding hills are clear. Below us through the far-extending vale
gleams in the bright light the silvery Wharfe, while here and there an
ancient family seat — the homes of Vavasour, Fawkes, and Fairfax —
* The late Mr. John McLandsboroug-h informs us that when he was a boy he
ascended the Chevin in the night time in company with his father, both bearing- lanterns,
in order to sec York Minster on lire, which was distinctly seen. The rhnirof the noble
minster had been purposely set on lire by the lunatic Jonathan Martin, and by midnight
ol February jnd, (829, the whole of this portion of the building was atlame to the roof.
The loss sustaineil amounted to ^65,000.
94
with many another stately mansion and homestead, appears in the
wide and beautiful landscape.
After this entrancing view we shall certainly be tempted to know
more of the surrounding neighbourhood. Let us, then, descend to the
bridge over the Wharfe, which we may cross, and either proceed to the
left to Weston, Askwith and Denton (five miles), or to the right in the
direction of Farnley and Leathley (two miles), or northwards to
Lindley and " Washburn's lovely valley " (three miles). Then, on this
side of the Wharfe we are also within easy walking distance of Burley
(two miles), Poole and Bramhope (three miles), the present and bygone
life of each of which will be duly chronicled.
Otley Bridge, as we learn from Leland, was a stone structure
before the Reformation, and doubtless a bridge has existed here from
before the Conquest for the convenience of those parishioners living on
the north side of Wharfe, who had to attend the church and markets
at Otley. The frequency of floods, however, and the long distances
many had to travel, no doubt led to the erection of the church at
Weston, in the tenth or early part of the eleventh century, followed by
the Norman one at Farnley. But the bridge continued to exist, as
appears by the order, stated by Tanner, that the lepers of the twelfth
century Otley Hospital (see p. 50) had to keep the bridge in repair.
In Anglo-Saxon times the Church was responsible for the maintenance
of bridges, but on the See of York founding the Hospital at Otley that
obligation seems to have been relegated to the lepers.* This must
have been a serious and eventually unsupportable tax on the Hospital
owing to the unavoidable liability to injury and destruction by floods.
A more substantial erection seems to have been proposed early in the
thirteenth century, for I find that Archbishop Gray in 1228 granted an
indulgence of thirteen days to those who would contribute to the
building of the bridge, in the same form as that granted for the bridge
at Elvet.f The Archbishops, aided by private benefactions maintained
the bridge until the sixteenth century, when the first Act of Parliament
was passed for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges of
public utility. In 1673, as before quoted from the Otley registers, the
bridge was swept away by the heaviest flood on record. Doubtless
the eastern half of the present handsome bridge of seven arches, with
* See Thorpe's Ancient Laws and Instittites of England \ Record Commission, 1840)
vol. L, page 432 &c.
-( In wide parishes, such as were common in the nest of Yorkshire, the need of
bridges was much felt, yet we find many privileged places were exempt from
maintaining them. "No city nor free town shall be distrained for making good any
bridge which is not by custom and law so kept up from the time of Henry I." Magna
Charta, cap. xv.
95
its projecting ribs beneath, is the structure next erected, which was
afterwards, about 1756, widened on the west or up-side.
A little beyond the bridge and we arrive at the ancient little
village of Newhall, which is mentioned along with Farnley in the
Nomina Villarum of 1315, as the property of the Archbishop of York,
In 1378 there were about a score families living here. The old Hall,
now a farm-house, is believed to have been originally a peel-tower,
though the oldest or central part of the present four-story building is no
doubt a foundation of one of the Kighleys of about the time of the
Reformation. There is a large pointed doorway into the cellar, while
the arches of the fire-places are depressed ; one on the third floor
having moulded spandrils. The uppermost chamber-roof is open to
the rafters and the windows throughout are debased Gothic. The east
and west wings of seventeenth century date, were rebuilt in 1827 out of
the old material. We have no knowledge when the first house was
built, but in 2ist Edward I. (1292) Wilelmus filius Falcasius, alias
Fawkes, is described as of Newall, near Otley, but how long it remained
with this family is uncertain. Robert de Newall was vicar of Otley in
1432 and died in 1449. Early in the sixteenth century it was in
possession of Thomas Kighley, who married a daughter of John
Vavasour, of Weston, living in 1505. About this time there was
living at Xewhall a family named Craven, and in 1520 the will was
proved ot a John Vicars, iconomus, of Newhall, near Otley. Laurence
Kighley succeeded to the ownership of Newhall, and his son, Edmond
Kighley, who married Anne, daughter of William Goldsborough,
inherited the property. According to Torre, John Kighley, of Newall,
gent, died in Feb. 1542, and was buried on the north side of Otley
churchyard, near his ancestors. Edmond appears to have left Newhall
and resided at Pool, where he died in 1602, leaving a son, Laurence
Kighley, who was born in 1586, and inherited his father's lands. In
1590 Newhall had been transferred to the Procters, and here we are
able to link the descent of the property with the present lords of
Farnley, which has not hitherto been explained. It may be well to
state that the property should not be confused with another ancient
Newhall, the home of Edward Fairfax, the poet (d. 1635),* which is
in the parish of Fewston, and was removed in 1876, when the Swinsty
reservoir was begun.
I have just said that the Otley Newhall passed to the Procters,
and by them it was sold about 1660 to the Wilkinsons. Anne, daughter
of Michael Fawkes, of South Duffield and Farnley (the unfortunate
HI- \va-~ married to Dorothy Laycork, of I.i-rds, in 1600-1. .Sir '/'/nnrs/ir \<n;
1'uli. iii. 17
96
Royalist) married, for her first husband, Henry, son and heir of Henry
Procter, of Newhall ; her second husband being Ralph Fincham, of
Caton, near Lancaster. She died in 1682, aged 44. Her grandnephew,
Francis Fawkes, of Farnley, who was born in 1707, married, April
loth, 1733, Christiana (then in her i7th year), daughter and heiress
of William Wilkinson, of Newhall (the last of the male line, who
died in 1731, aged 75), whose family had then possessed the estate
about seventy years. Thus having been sold by the ancestor of
' Fawkes, it returned to the family in this interesting manner, and still
• forms part of the Farnley Hall estates. According to Warburton,
Somerset Herald, who made a rough sketch of the hall on the occasion
2, of his visit in February, 1718-19, the hall was then in the occupation
of Edmund Barker, Esq.
On the death of Francis Fawkes in 1786, the house, according to
Hargrove, was occupied by Thomas Clifton, Esq., barrister-at-la\v,*
and afterwards for some years by a Mr. and Mrs. Smith and a Mrs.
Windsor, who had retired from long service at Farnley Hall, besides
a family who had the farm attached to it. The old house at that
time was fast going to decay, and Dr. Shaw, a surgeon at Otley,
gives the following amusing anecdote about the shaky condition of
the old wings of the dwelling, some time about 1820.
I well remember attending an invalid there ; it was in winter, and the night rainy,
with a strong wind. About ten o'clock Mrs. Windsor called on the servant to bring
her clogs, cloak, umbrella, and lantern, for she would go to bed. I was a little
surprised to hear the old lady give such orders, and enquired it" she was going out of
.the house to sleep. " No," she replied, "but the long east passage that leads to my
/ room is so very dark, windy, and wet, that I always take these precautions in such
nights as this, for fear of losing my light or getting cold." Upon examination I found
all these things necessary, for the long east gallery was in bad repair, water was
dropping from the ceiling, and the wind driving the rain through the broken window-.
The old house, indeed, before its restoration, was just the kind of lonely
mansion to cry out as haunted; the dark, howling corridors, loose
casements, and creaking footways must often, I opine, have conjured
thoughts of things uncanny in the minds of the half-slumbering
inmates, particularly on stormy nights. Dr. Shaw also refers to the
fine grove of old trees near the house ; one of them, an oak growing on
the north side, must have been a majestic object, for he thought it "the
finest in the valley."
The beautifully-situated mansion below, known as Newall Hall,
was in the early part of the century occupied by a family named
Ward, whose descendants, the Billams, long resided here. The late
Mr. Francis Billam, who was an active county magistrate from the year
"); Hargrove evidently confuses the two Newhalls, and this observation may apply
to the N'ewhall in Fc-wston.
07
1833 to the time of his death in June, 1867, was well known and highly
respected in the neighbourhood of Otley, being a gentleman of
generous sympathies and of a charitable disposition. At \e\vall Hall
he had a fine collection of mounted birds and other natural history
objects, besides a great many other curios, including works of art,
autographs, &c. Amongst the autographs were letters of Cromwell,
several of the Stuart monarchs, and some interesting letters written by
the celebrated evangelist, John Wesley. The hall has since been
occupied by the Wilkinsons.
Not far from here are the large buildings of the Workhouse of the
extensive Otley Union. The old Workhouse was in Cross Green,
Otley, and a century ago there were on an average from 30 to 40
paupers always in the house, who appear to have been well cared for.
One of the inmates, Martha Dixon, an unrecorded centenarian, died in
the house in 1802, aged 106, and retained her faculties to the last. Up
to the final year of her life she maintained her bodily activity, and used
to go about the town soliciting alms, which were freely given to her on
account of her great age. At this time law and order was maintained
by the old parish constables, but Otley had its refractories and
notorious characters, who well knew the gruesome " black hole " under
the old workhouse.
CHAPTER V.
FARNLEY.
Farnley I lall and the Fawkes family — The family muniment- Historical -ketch — The
late Mr. Ayscoug-h Fawkcs and the Rev. Frederick Fawkes —The hall and it-
trca-ures The Turner drawing- Relics of the Civil War -The park Sale ol
pedigree stock -The church — Discovery ol a lead coffin.
EAUTIFUL and retired is the neighbourhood of Farnley,
2/Jjk \v'th its handsome old manor-hall associated with the
name of Fawkes uninterruptedly for nearly seven
centuries. The family is said to have come from
Avignon, in France, early in the reign of Henry III.,
and to have settled at Newhall and Farnley soon afterwards. But
there are at Farnley Hall no original records of the Fawkes family of
so early a date as this. There are about a dozen large boxes of deeds,
at least four of which contain numerous documents of the middle of
the seventeenth century. There are about a score deeds and charters
of no earlier date than the fourteenth century relating to affairs of the
Hawksworths. Also among the early deeds is a release by the
Templars, which names as witnesses several of the Order. I have also
seen here about forty early deeds relating to properties in the
neighbourhood of Silkstone and Barnsley. Likewise a number of
charters concerning grants of land, chiefly about Stainburn, to
Fountains Abbey. The only one apparently foreign to the present
owners and district is a bond of Walter de Hurthworthe, parson of the
moiety of the church of Sedbergh, dated at Sedbergh, fourteenth year
of Edward II. (A.D. 1320). But in this deed reference is made to a
William de Siggeswikes, and this is, I believe, one of the Fountains
Abbey family, and is, I should say, the earliest mention of a Sedgwick
in Lonsdale that has been discovered. There was a Thomas de
Sigeswik and wife living at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, in 1379,
who are conjectured to have been the progenitors of the Sidgwicks
connected with Fountains Abbey about this time.* The Farnley deed
may have got here with the other charters concerning that monastery.
In 1312 William de Fawkes de Frenale is witness to a deed of
Wm. Vavasour, and in 1320 he attests by the name of William de
Fernelay a deed of Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard de Storkheld.t In
See ihc author's Cran-n //i^/i/aiif/, paj^e 4^1. | Vorks. (. '</. .!/«//•., iSqi, p. no.
too
1315 the Fawkes' held the manor of Farnley of the Archbishop of York
by knight service, and the Archbishop of the King.* In 1378
Johannes de Fawkes paid i2d. tax for that he and his wife kept an
hostel at Farnley. At this time Farnley was more populous than now ;
there were then at least thirty separate families in the village. In the
reign of Henry VII. John Fawkes, of Farnley, was steward of the
Forest of Knaresbro', a post that had been lately filled by Thomas,
son of Geoffrey Chaucer, the distinguished poet. This John Fawkes
had three sons,f (i) Nicholas, of Farnley, (2) William, buried at St.
Michael-le-Belfrey, York, in 150 r, and (3) Henry, a merchant of York,
who died in 1570, leaving, according to Mr. Davies,| a son named
William Fawkes, who married Ellen, daughter of William Haryngton,
Lord Mayor of York,§ and by whom he had a son Edward (whose
widow married Dionis Baynbrigge, of Scotton, in Nidderdale), father
of the conspirator, Guy Fawkes. The latter was baptised at St.
Michael-le-Belfrey, York, i6th April, 1570, where his three younger
sisters were baptised. It is also noteworthy that Nicholas Fawkes, of
Farnley, had a son John, who married a daughter of William
Arthington, of Castley, in the parish of Leathley, by whom he had
issue Anthony Fawkes, of York, who died in 1551, and whose widow,
a Vavasour, of Weston, married secondly Peter Bainbridge, of Scotton,
father of Dionis Baynbridge (a staunch Roman Catholic), who married
the widowed mother of Guy Fawkes. ^[ Anthony's younger brother,
Richard Fawkes, of Farnley, left a son Thomas, who died unmarried
in i627,|| consequently the Farnley estate went to Marmaduke, son of
the above Nicholas Fawkes, whose son Marmaduke, of Woodhall-cum-
Brackenholme, South Duffield, and Farnley, is named in Peacock's list
of Yorkshire Papists in 1604. His son Michael, of Woodhall, in the
parish of Hemingborough, who died in 1647, nad to compound for his
estates during the Civil War, and was fined ,£360. He was thrice
" .Sin-tees Soc. Pub., vol. xlix., p. 349.
I Richard Fawkes, who was a foreigner by birth, is stated to be the .second son of
John Fawkes, of Farnley, near Otley. He was a printer at the Lyon monastery in 1535,
and Herbert states that Wycr was his servant.
;[: There seems to be no direct proof that William Fawkes was the son of Henry,
but Mr. Davies in The Fawkes of York, thinks it very probable he was. Of course if
this is not so the connection of Guy Fawkes with the Farnley family falls to the ground.
Clay's Dugdale, iii., 205.
§ She died in 1575, and by will left to her young grandson, Guy Fawkes, the future
conspirator, " my best whistle, and one ould angell of gould."
IT See the author's Nidderdale, pp. 341-3.
|| Thomas' mother was a daughter of Sir Thomas Johnson, of Lindley (see footnote
on page 63), and he was buried within Otley Church, near his seat in the choir, and he
bequeathed two messuages in Otley to the churchwardens for the list- of the poor
widows <>!' Farnley for ever.
married; the second thru1, in 1634, at Add, to Jane, daughter of
Cyril Arthington, Esq., whose wife Rosamond, daughter of William
Hawkesworth, Esq., of Hawkesworth, in the parish of Guiseley, also
appears as a recussant at Adel in 1604, having absented herself from
the Parish Church then two years. Michael's youngest son, Francis,
by his third wife, it may be noted, was baptised in March, 1643-4, at
the same font in York as the conspirator, Guy Fawkes, above
mentioned. His brother Thomas succeeded to Farnley, and was M.P.
for Knaresborough, 1688-1695 ; he married (i) Sarah, daughter and
heir of Francis Mitchell, Esq., of Arthington Grange, and (2), Mary,
daughter of Wm. Welby, Esq., of Denton, co. Lincoln.
The last lineal heir of the Fawkes' was Francis, only son of
Francis Fawkes, who died unmarried in his father's lifetime, when his
father who died in 1786 left the bulk of his estate to his relative Walter
Ramsden Beaumont Hawksworth Esq., who assumed the surname
and arms of Fawkes, pursuant to the will of the testator, Francis
Fawkes Esq., of Farnley. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1789,
and died in 1792, and a monument before mentioned is erected to his
memory in Otley Church. His eldest son, Walter Ramsden Fawkes
Esq., who died in 1825 and was M.P. for the county of York in 1806,*
was a gentleman of broad political views and generous sympathies.
He was one of the pioneers in the abolition of slavery, and his political
activities had " the applause of the friends of the Africans and clothiers,
although a very clamorous and violent party pretends to question his
loyal integrity, yet the childish efforts of this silly faction rather
enhance the worth than tarnish the character of this great man/' t He
was the friend and patron of the great artist J. M. W. Turner, R.A.
The distinguished painter was a frequent visitor at Farnley, and the
large collection of his drawings preserved at the Hall have given a
fame to Farnley far beyond our own dominions. To this subject I
shall return presently. Mr. Walter Fawkes was twice married, but
had no children by his second wife. By his first wife he left a family
of four sons and seven daughters ; the last surviving daughter being
Miss Harriet Esther, who died in London, December 29th, 1893, in her
goth year. The youngest son, the late Major Richard Fawkes, who
was born in 1809 and died in December 1896, had served some
years in the 27th Foot. He married a daughter of the late Mr.
Archibald Paris, and had seven sons, at least five of whom are officers
in either the army or the navy. Another daughter, Amelia, married
* He wrote the Englishman's Manual or a Dialogue between a Tc.ry and Kft'iunu-i-,
Leeds (1817).
T MS. History <>f \Vharfedale (1807).
102
Digby Cayley Wrangham Esq., Q.C., M.P., second son of the
celebrated Archdeacon Wrangham. He died in 1863, and was the
uncle to Ayscough Fawkes, Esq., the recent owner of Farnley, who
succeeded to the estates in 1871, on the death of his father, the Rev.
Ayscough Fawkes, rector of Leathley.
The late squire of Farnley, whose portrait is here presented, took
an active interest in the district, and was widely known in many and
various capacities. He was for nearly thirty years Chairman of the
Otley Bench of Magistrates, and was a D.L. of the West Riding.
He was particularly interested in all matters appertaining to the farm
and field, and since 1871, up to the time of his death, was President
of the Wharfedale Agricultural Society, as well as President of the
Wharfedale Chamber of Agriculture. He was also a member of the
Council of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and a life governor of
the Yorkshire College. Locally, in out-of-door pastimes Mr. Ayscough
Fawkes was always ready to lend a helping hand, and though himself
naturally infirm and unable to endure much vigorous exercise, he
loved occasionally to handle a gun on the grouse moors and was
accounted a very fair shot. To the Otley Angling Association, of
which he had been President twenty-one years, he rendered exceptional
service, particularly in regard to ova and the breeding of fish. With
most, if not all the local institutions and charities his name was long
associated, and though constantly hampered by all sorts of claims he
gave generously to all deserving objects. He was a great patron of
music and to the Otley Philharmonic Society he rendered valuable help.
In 1883 when the late Duke of Albany and his then bride attended
the Leeds Musical Festival, they were entertained at Farnley Hall
from October gth to the i3th, the occasion being marked by much
rejoicing by the people of Otley. Mr. Fawkes in 1865 married his
cousin Edith Mary, a daughter of the late Sir Anthony Cleasby, a
Baron of the Court of Exchequer, by whom he left no issue. He died
on June 2ist, iSgg^aged 68 years ; his successor to the estates being his
brother, the Rev. ^Frederick Fawkes, vicar of Escrick, near York.
This gentleman had been in possession of the estate little more than
six months when he was taken suddenly ill and died at Farnley on
February 3rd, IQOO^ aged 66. He was born at Caley Hall and in
early life had been curate at Stainburn. During his late brief residence
in the neighbourhood he had taken great interest in the varied concerns
of the estate, and by his cheerfulness, energy and tact, had already
made himself very popular. To his kindness the present writer is
indebted for an inspection of the old family papers previously alluded
to. His successor is his eldest son, Frederick Hawksworth Fawkes, Esq..
J.P., who received his educational training at Eton and Cambridge.
AYSCOUGH FAWKES, ESQ., J.P.
io3
Farnlev Hall is a fine mansion well situated on a slight eminence
in the midst of a noble domain (jvr plate). The extensive addition^.
to the old Elizabethan house were carried out by Mr. Walter Hawksworth
Fa \\kes a.-, before stated, in 1786, under direction of the eminent architect,
John Carr.* The interior adornments of the house are of the most
beautiful and costly character, the handsome staircase, wall-decorations
and ceilings being all executed by the first artists. There is some very
fine old oak furniture, also a chimney-piece \vith quaint overmantel of
oak made from an old bedstead, traditionally believed to have been
occupied by King James I., when on a visit to Hawksworth I fall. f
The large chimney-piece in the dining-room is of Italian marble,
beautifully designed and wrought bv Fisher, of York. Another notable
object is the ancient stained glass window, most of which was brought
from Hawksworth Hall. On one square appears the initials of John
Hawkesworth who served under Richard Pons, a Norman lord, at the
battle of Hastings, and on another the principal quartering*, in heraldic
colours, of intermarriages with the families of Hawkesworth and
Fawkes. The walls of the rooms are adorned by a great number of
choice paintings by the great masters, including works by Vandyke,
Cuyp, Guide, Carracci, &c. But the chiefjflory of these exhibitions
is the unrivalled collection of drawings by J. M. W. Turner, which
have been so eloquently described and criticised by John Ruskin in
Pre-Raphaelitism, and other of his books. There are or were no fewer
than 170 of the great master's drawings at Farnlev, all carefully
arranged, a priceless and unique set, unequalled by any other collection
of his works in the kingdom, and which as time rolls on must become
ever increasingly valuable.:}: They range in point of date from 1806
to 1820, during which period the artist spent some of the happiest
years of his life as the guest of Mr. Walter Fawkes in Wharfedale,
"days so happy that after his friend died in 1825, he would
never return there, although he kept up a correspondence with Mr.
Francis Hawksworth Fawkes, to whom Mr. Ruskin dedicated his
Pre-Raphaelitism^ For Mr. Walter Fawkes's book, Chronology of
Modem Europe (York, 1816), Turner drew the frontispiece, and when
at Farnley he would amuse his friend by making drawings of different
parts of the hall, the lodges, the trees, and even of the game he shot.
From a long and spirited notice of the Farnley Hall "Turners"
furnished by a writer in the Athenaum for 1879, I w^' quote what
is said of the splendid display in the principal room : —
In the saloon at Farnley Hall hang not fewer than fifty-out- superb drawing-, in
* For a long notice of Carr and his works see Yorks. Anhl. //., J V., p. 200, et \K/.
t See the author's Romantic Richnionilshirc, pp. 466-7.
± A few years ago a portion of the collection was sold at Christie's.
,
'
2£u- Ct£t^WZZ*C /2x.A£frCtA~ r] *(.AM4^J-f4<^*^C /
T04
water-colors by Turner, nearly all of which are masterpiece1; in the treatment of light,
shadow, clouds, water, rocks, and trees ; the}' furnish a perfect treasury of various
studies of these complex and difficult subjects, and looking at the whole as illustrating
that stage in the painter's career to which they owe their existence, doubtless no room
in the world, not even the National Gallery, nor the collections of Mr. Ruskin and Mr.
Kingsley, is richer. Within the limits of production, which are thus indicated, these
drawings vary in their dates from 1800 to the famous " Mont Cenis " of 1820 ; each one,
however, marks the attainment of a step in knowledge and skill, a distinct achievement,
and the consolidation, so to say, of countless foregone studies, directed by the utmost
devotion, and guided by consummate art. Here are instances of stringent training of
the most skilful of human hands, the widest and most exact observation, and
indefatigable industry. On looking round the sumptuous room, it is impossible to
avoid feeling that any amount of time, labour, and intelligence might be devoted to an
examination of its contents, nor can a visitor escape the conviction that it is hopeless to
try to do more than give a faint idea of such wonders as these. That Turner's
accomplished, eloquent and devoted prophet has already dealt with many of the
examples is at once an encouragement and a deterrent to the writers who follow him.
In addition to the numerous paintings there is a large and valuable
library, and a variety of rarities and bric-a-brac from almost all
quarters of the world. There are also many interesting trophies of the
great Civil War, in which the Fawkes family with other local gentry
was greatly concerned, including the three swords used by Cromwell,
Fairfax, and Lambert, and a cup made out of one of the boots worn
by Fairfax at Marston Moor in 1644, al*° Fairfax's drum. The
following is a list of the Cromwelliana sent from Farnley to the great
exhibition at York in 1846. The collection is unique of its kind, some
of the objects having at one time been in possession of the family of
General Fairfax :
1. A sword well authenticated as having been used by Oliver Cromwell. It is
double-edged, straight, with a guard formed of a single bow ending near the blade in a
sort of quarter basket, resembling such as were generally used in the time of Charles II.
2. A broad-brimmed hat, low in the crown, of clrab-colored felt, worn by
Cromwell. It was preserved for many years at Denham Place, Bucks., and given by
the late Benj. Way, Esq., to Thomas Lister Parker, Ksq., by whom it was presented to
Mr. Fawkes.
3. A watch used by Cromwell. It is a small repeater, bearing the name of the
maker, Jaques Cartier ; the outer case is formed of leather, studded with silver.
4. A sword, used by Sir Thomas Fairfax. It is a straight broad-sword, with a
basket hilt, in the Scotch fashion, richly inlaid with silver. On the blade is the name of
the maker, Andrea Ferara, and the forge-mark, a mound or globe, surmounted by a
double or patriarchal cross.
v A sword which belonged to General Lambert. It is a hanger, serrated at the
back, the handle formed of gilt brass, representing a lion sitting on his haunches, and
holding with his fore-paws the guard, which consists of a single bow. The blade bears
the forge mark of a dolphin, and date 1648.
6. Silver matrix of the seal prepared during the time of the Commonwealth, for
the approval of ministers ordered to travel through England to preach. In the centre
is the book of the Scriptures, opened and inscribed thus : THE WORD OF GOD ; on
either side is a palm branch, and the following legend runs around the verge : THE
SEAL FOR APPROBATION OF MINISTERS. — A representation of it is given in Whitaker's
Whalley, page 89.
7. Square brass candlesticks known to have been used by Sir Thos. Fairfax.
Thf massive antique oak furniture and Kli/abethan paintings,
together with the armour and relics above described, give a real historic
grandeur to the fine apartment.
The park at Farnley, as I have said, is very extensive and in
common with similar domains of the Wharfedale gentry, was once
famous for its stock of shorthorn cattle. Former squires also kept a
pack of hounds at the Hall, but the kennels have been transformed into
farm-buildings. In September, 1899, shortly after the death of Mr.
Ayscough Fawkes, the Farnley herd, so long celebrated in the history
of pedigree stock, was disposed of by auction, and the following may
be placed on record as a summary of the sale : —
Average. Total.
30 cows and heifers ... ---,£27 o o ;£8i6 18 o
IT bulls and calves ... ... 20 i o 220 10 o
9 thorough-bred horses ... 23 6 8 210 o o
4 half-bred ,, ... 33 r 6 132 6 8
Among the purchasers were the Earl of Harewood, Col. Ramsden,
Messrs. E. W. Stanyforth, Kirk Hammerton ; W. H. Hutchinson,
Beverley; F. J. S. Foljambe, Osberton, Notts.; John Brown, Otley;
W. Robinson, Bolton Abbey, &c. The highest price realized for a
single animal was ninety-three guineas, paid by Mr. H. Williams, of
Moor Park, Harrogate, for the pedigree cow, Majors Bracelet, calved
in March, 1896. A good deal of interesting information on this subject
and on the shorthorn wonders of Farnley and Burley (whence the
Farnley stock really originated) will be found in the late Mr. H. H.
Dixon's Saddle and Sir/oin, published in 1870.
The church at Farnley is not like that at Weston, mentioned in
Domesday, though it is a Norman foundation. The church, however,
was almost wholly rebuilt in 1851, and at this day one cannot but wish
that the "much-needed restoration" had been of a more conservative
character. Little save the lower wall of the north side* is visible to
bespeak its centuries of past history, while as a chapel-of-ease to the
mother church at Otley, it must also be said the records of its peaceful
ministrations to unnumbered generations of worshippers are very few.
The east end had Early English windows, and the present church has
been built in that style, while the old arch separating the choir from the
nave had Norman billet mouldings certainly not later than the time of
Henry I. An inscription beneath the west window states that the
chapel was erected in 1250, but this date needs correction. The
* The north wall was left standing- and is of nidi- Karlv Knglish character, without
base-plinths as in the rebuilt portion. MOM of the old wall-stones were u--e<l in the
rebuilding-.
io6
foundation, judging by the remains of its architecture, was distinctly
late Norman, of the time of Henry I. (A.D. 1100-1135). ^n tne
Certificates of Chantries &c., published at the Reformation, it is stated
that the chapel was founded to aid the curate of Otley, and that the
then (A.D. 1548) incumbent, one Christopher Wade, was sixty years old
and "full of sickeness," and that he had no other living but the profits of
the said chapel, which amounted to ,£3 per annum. The Commissioners
recommended that owing to the distance from the parish church, the
chapel should be continued, which was permitted. The living has since
been augmented by Parliamentary grant, &c., and the patronage is in
the hands of the lord of the manor of Farnley.
There was a large farm-house near the church yard steps on the
north-east side, which was tenanted for a long time by the Monckmans.
Then it was converted into kennels, but the noise made by the dogs
during divine service soon led to its abandonment, and the kennels were
removed to their present station. Before the old house was pulled
down, now about forty years ago, it was tenanted by a William Freeman,
who had a couple of fields, and I am told that whilst ploughing one of
them on the south side of the present burial-ground, an old lead coffin
was turned up, and the lid was also discovered a yard or two away.
The coffin contained no remains and it was hammered up and sold. A
conspicuous oak tree marks the site where it was found, but no burials
are known to have ever taken place in this field.
CHAPTER VI.
TITF. PARISH or LKATIII.F.Y.
Heautilnl scenery 'I'lic XVashluirn Meaning ol' ilic name -Local field-names — Pre-
Conquest I.calhley Manorial history Meaning of I.eathley —The De T. clays and
oilier families Warburton's visit to I.eathley The Pilgrimage of Grace—The
Church Architectural description Comparison with Celtic churches Historical
reconU The old rectory Curious old stocks and whipping-post Ancient trades
.it l.i-athlcy boundaries of the common— The school and almshouses Mrs.
\Vatson, centenarian I.eathley Hall C.i-tlrv, the hall, &r. — Historical notes
Chapel Field -Ancient manor-house -A rural solitude.
ONTIGUOUS to Farnley yet separated from it by a
natural and very ancient line of demarcation— the rustic
\Vushburn-is the picturesque parish of Leathley, with
its delightful old village of that name, laying on the
opposite side of the Wharfe to Pool and Otley it is most
frequently approached from these places, and visited it often is, for its
attractions offer too tempting a bonne louche to be omitted from the
rambler's holiday menu. Here he may feast himself on the beautiful
pastoral scenery, on the well-laden orchards — with the eye only ! —
wonder at the many natural history objects and varied antiquities, or
turn to whatsoever his mind honestly listeth. He may wander beside
the prettily-verdured banks of Washburn by the old Domesday mill,
getting perchance a glimpse of the stout old hall at Lindley (now
however, a good farmhouse) and so reach the Leeds "Lake District,''
as the upper part of the valley may be called. Here the long bright
expanses that supply that famous city with pure water may be viewed,
gleaming in the distance, lake-like for many miles. Many a ram avis
may be seen too, about the surface or upon the winding shores, while
in the woods and lanes around in the budding spring-time, when
orchard garths are laden with the rich promise of later days, there
bloom the sweet violet and "dancing daffodil," with many another
wild floral gem.
But this beautiful little upland stream, the Washburn, sometimes
swells into a great rushing torrent, ravaging the country on its banks,
as it often has done, but more particularly in former times. The
heaviest flood recorded occurred on August 4th, 1767, when the water
rose six feet in the space of an hour, cattle and sheep being carried
bodily away, two houses at Beamsley swept down, and the Dob Park
and Lindley bridges completely destroyed. As I have said tin's
io8
Washburn forms a very old boundary, perhaps as old as the Cymric-
Celtic settlement of the district, or as far back as our proofs of local
occupation go. It is indeed doubtful whether the suffix b^lrn, which
occurs in Washburn and Stainburn in this neighbourhood, has anything
to do with the Northumbrian name for a stream. Throughout
Scandinavian Yorkshire the word beck is invariably used to describe a
stream and never burn.* Yet as I have explained in the early history
of Otley, this district became on the Celtic conquest or withdrawal,
such an important and populous centre of Anglo-Saxon power that one
may be tempted to believe the term burn was applied as a stream-
name when in other less Anglian localities the name had perished.
But whether this be so or not, I may observe that there are two becks
at Stainburn, the West Beck and the East Beck ; not a single burn, and
as will be presently seen the Teutonic burn has another meaning.
Most of our river-names however, are thought to be Celtic, and this
may be the same, yet I must doubt it, for in such case it would carry
us back to the Goidelic or first Celtic occupation of modern Yorkshire,
as from the Goidelic iiisce (water) whence the A.-S. wcesc (a washing)
we derive such names as Esk, Ouse, Wisk, Eska, Etsch, &c.; Wisbeach,
for example, being named from its situation on the Wysg or Wash,
now some miles from the beach by the gradual advance of the land.f
But the affix burn or burne may be also Celtic, as it appears as
a Norse loan-word from the Irish boireann, a stone heap or ruin, or a
place abandoned. :{: Probably Stainburn in this locality has such a
meaning, from the neighbourhood of the rocky Almes Cliff having been,
as is well ascertained, occupied by Celts and abandoned on the
Teutonic irruption. At any rate the stream there is always spoken of as
Stainburn Beck and never as the Stain burn. Still the word burn taken
in the sense of stream, whether Celtic or Anglo-Saxon, has much the
same meaning as the prefix Wash, and may be a reduplication. I feel,
however, impelled to the conclusion that the whole word is Teutonic
compounded from waesc and borran, meaning a wash or stream bounding
or bordering a place abandoned and in ruins. And this I have proved
to be the case so far as the Washburn at Leathley is concerned.
That Leathley, like Otley, owes its origin as a permanent
settlement to the Anglo-Saxons, there is no possible doubt. Whoever
had been on the ground before either disappeared or became absorbed
in the Anglian population. Such field-names as Briffa Butts, Elmast
Acre, and Carlshaw, all tell of Anglo-Saxon possession, and these
particular fields, it is interesting to note, were, until recently, long narrow
* See the author's Old Bhigley, p. 391. f See Blackie's Place Names, p. 199.
J See the discussion on the words "burn1 and 'borran" in the Yorkshire Weekly
Post (Notes & Queries) for March and April, 1900.
109
snips, tlu- survivals of the Teutonic MMrm of culture. These strips or
ix-ins \\ere formed by the unenclosed boundaries of unploughed land,
lying contiguous to large cultivated areas, abundant evidences of which
still exist in the terraced reins higher up the dale. There is no doubt the
Anglo-Saxon possessors built up the place, extended cultivation, and
remained a strong force in the neighbourhood, in spite of the Norse
irruption, long after the Norman usurpation. This fact must be
remembered when I come to discuss the origin of the church.
Little indeed seems to have been said about Leathley, but with the
material I possess, a hundred or more pages on this interesting old
parish might be written, with perhaps less trouble than the following
necessarily condensed account must entail. I have just spoken of the
pre-Conquest occupation of Leathley, and between the bridge and the
almshouses there is a noticeable avenue of fine old trees striking across
the park and up tne hill northwards. It is not now a roadway ; the
present road through the park cuts across it at right angles. The
avenue extends for several hundred yards, and at its termination on
Scale Hill somewhat extensive foundations of buildings of unknown
origin were dug up many years ago. Several querns, or hand corn-
mills, were also found on the site, which are now in the rectory garden.
There is a very artificial look about this hill, which has the appearance
of having been thrown up in several still well-defined rampart-like
scarps. The discovery of old housesteads on this ground may lead one
to suppose that this was the site of the original village commune,
occupied until perhaps after the Norman usurpation, while the name
Scale Hill, like the Scaleber, near Burley, already explained, and other
Wharfedale "Scales," is an obvious derivation of the Scand. scale, skali,
huts or homesteads.
In the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-66), Leathley had
been in two manors, one of them containing four carucates for the
plough, a mill, and two acres of meadow, belonging to Archil ; while
the other consisted of one carucate for the plough and two acres ot
meadow, belonging to Ulchil. On the partition of the lands by the
Conqueror, Archil's manor went to William de Percy, who feud it to
one Ebrard, while Ulchil's manor passed to Giselbert Tyson, who had
it farmed by three villanes and one border. Robert de Bruis had also
two carucates here. On the Domesday readjustment, about A.D. 1086,
William de Percy is stated to hold three carucates and seven bovates ;
the King, two and a half carucates (two of which had belonged to Bruis),
and Giselbert Tyson, one carucate, all in Leathley. The taxable value
of the whole lands before the Conquest in 1066 was 505., and
afterwards 29^5., such had been the effect of the Norman depreciation.
The union of the estate in one township (for the parish apparently was
110
not formed, nor the church built) in the manner described has perhaps
to do with the name of Leathley, which in every instance in Domesday
appears as Ledelai ; the slight change in spelling being an evident
attempt on the part of the French Commissioners to interpret the
Anglo-Saxon th, unless we are to accept the Anglo-Saxon lead (the
people), as the version. The true name I take to be, as generally
pronounced (though sometimes Lealey), Leathley, from the A.-S. lael/t,
a district or division. This laeth, according to Sir Francis Palgrave, is
a synonym of leet, sometimes used as an equivalent to a hundred.*
The place gave name to an ancient and notable family,
descendants doubtless of the pre-Conquest owners. In my Chronicles
of Old Bingley I shew how Simon de Montalte, lord of Riddlesden,
&c., in 1165, was descended maternally from Archil, living in the time
of Edward the Confessor, and this family became mesne lords of
Leathley under the Norman feudatories. The same Simon de
Montalte in conjunction with one William de Lethelia and Robert and
Hugo, his sons, were witnesses to the charter of Gundreda Haget to
Bilton, temp. Henry II. In i2th Henry II. (1165) William, son of
Hugh de Leeleia (note the omission of the Saxon th, so difficult for the
Norman to pronounce), renders an account of iocs, debt, and in 1205
we find a Sir Hugh de Lelay claiming an estate in Newton Kyme and
Nun Appleton against Walter de Faukenberg. A daughter of Sir
Hugh de Lelay, f Isolda, married Roger Poictevin, descended from the
celebrated hero of the Conquest of the same name, who possessed all
the land between the Ribble and the Mersey, and was the builder of
Clitheroe Castle, the head of his great fief. Isolda gave to the nunnery
at Appleton an estate in Castley, in the parish of Leathley, and she
also bestowed the neighbouring village of Stainburn on Fountains
Abbey, to which the Montaltes had also been benefactors. Her son,
Thomas Poictevin, gave the mill of Saxton to Nostal Priory, temp.
John,} at which time also the church at Leathley was given to the
same Priory.§ The church at Leathley apparently followed that
portion of the manorial property held by this family.
* An example will be found cited in the Bradford Antiquary, vol. i, p. 192. See
also The Commonwealth of England, by Sir Thos. Smith (1633), first published in 1583,
and containing chapters "on the Parts of Shires called Hundreds, /.allies, Rapes, and
Wapentakes, &c.," quoted by Gomme, Local Institutions (i.S86), p. 15 ; sec also Furley's
History of the Weald of Kent, vol. ii., pt. ii., pp. 770-6.
f A Hugo de Lelay is witness to a charter of land at Farnley granted to Archbishop
Walter Gray, ca 1220 ; and Robert de Lelay grants land in Farnley to the same prelate.
Surtees Soc. , Ivi. 279-80.
£ See the Kirkstall Abbey Charters, published by the Thoresby Society.
§ See Burton's Ecclesiastical Hist.
1 1 1
Ac voiding to Kirkby's Inquest (1284-5) one-third part of the
manor ot" Leathley was held for one-third of a Knight's Fee by Galfrid
de Montalte, of the Earl of Albemarle, who held it of the king in
capite, and another third part was held by the master of St. Leonard's
Hospital, York, who had it of the heirs of Percy.* The earldom of
Albemarle terminated in the reign of Edward I.,f when their lands
lacking heirs were escheated to the Crown. The earls had been lords
of the honour of Skipton-in-Craven up to this time, and under them
Thomas de Leathley had held the important post of Constable of the
Castle.j John Leathley was sheriff of the city of York in 1468,$ but
at this time the family must have been long estranged from the place
of its nativity. The line of Montalte expired in heiresses, according to
Dods worth, towards the end of the thirteenth century, and in 1315
(vide the Noniina Villaruni) Leathley is returned as held by the heirs of
Percy then in custody of the king. Their badge (a crescent with
fetterlock) is cut in stone in the nave of the church.
How or when the Lindleys came into possession of the estates at
Leathley is not exactly known. Robert de Lyndley, armiger, was
evidently living at Lindley and not at Leathley in 1378.^ They took
their name from the adjoining township, and as already pointed out,
William de Lindley was lord of Farnley, temp. Henry III. For many
generations they resided at the old hall at Leathley,|| and the pre-
Reformation chapel in the north transept of Otley Church, with its
curious old brass, previously alluded to, was their property. The last
male heir of the Leathley family was Arthur Lindley, J.P. in 1634,
whose wife was a daughter of Sir John Garrett, Lord Mayor of London,
and by whom he left two daughters, co-heiresses.** One of these was
married to Sir Edward Loftus, of Ely, and the other, Helen, became
the wife of (i) Sir Ingram Hopton, of Armley, who died in 1643,
\Vith some few exceptions the estates ot Roger de Foictevin in England were
given by Henry I. to Count Stephen, his nephew, who, when king, granted nearly the
whole of them to Ranulph, Earl of Chester (ob. 1129); while Robert de Rumeli and
Alan de Perci appear to have acquired the lands of his fief in Craven. Yorks. Arch. JL,
xiv. 300 n. Cecily de Rumelli, daughter and heir of the said Robert de Rumelli,
married William de Meschines, younger brother of Ranulph, Earl of Chester. Their
daughter Alice married William Kit/- Duncan, nephew of David, King of Scotland,
whose daughter Cecily was wife ot William, son of Stephen, Earl of Albemarle
(ob. 1179).
1 See the author's Airedale, \>. .2,31
i \V hi laker's Craven, 3rd ed., p 417. j Drake's Eliorai inn, p. 363.
" l7(/c Poll Tax 2nd Richard 11. Whitaker's 1'nwn, 31-4 1 ed., p. 163.
for pedigree of Lindley, of York, see Dugdale's I'isitalimi »/ York (1665-6);
l'a\ cr\ /'filiifi-trs of families <>/' llic Citv <>>' York (1X42), p. i ^ ; and Thornton's Xntts ,
II., 301.
112
(2) of Robert Brandling, of Leathley,* by whom she had five daughters,
all of whom, except Alathea, seem to have predeceased their mother,
who died i5th March, 1664. Alathea married Henry Hitch, Esq., son
and heir of Dr. Robert Hitch, rector of Guiseley and Adel, and some
time Dean of York, who died in 1676.! By this marriage Leathley
came to the Hitches. Henry Hitch died January loth, 1701, and
according to a memorial of him in Leathley Church, he left two sons
and two daughters ; one of the sons, Robert, succeeding him at
Leathley, where he died October 2yth, 1723, aged 53. One of his
daughters, Alathea, married William Lambert, who was sheriff of York in
1729-304 In the Journal of John Warburton, F.R.S., the celebrated
antiquary, and Somerset Herald, is an entry, dated February i3th,
1 ! .?•-& •'. 3 FIJI
mi
.
LEATHLEY HALL Two CENTURIES AGO.
1718, recording a visit Warburton made on that day to Leathley,
where he was the guest of Mr. Robert Hitch. Describing his journey
from Harrogate by Pannal and Stainburn, he says he " left Lynley
village on the right, situated on the point of a hill, and at half-a-mile
yet further came to Leathley village, church, town, and seat of Robert
Hitch, Esq., representative in Parliament for the borough of
Knaresborough [1715-22], a large and convenient edifice as at present
improved by the worthy owner, who hath been at great expense in
adorning and beautifying it with a new south front, a wing to the east
* \cc Siirtees Soc. Pub., vol. 36, p. 28, &c.
f A biography of Dr. Hitch is preserved among the Kenneth MSS. (vol. 52, No.
686), in the British Museum.
£ Yofks. Aich.JL, xv., 171 n
H3
;ind outhouses, and offices, gardens, and otlier embellishments, where I
staved all night."' lie also sketched the old house, which is here
reproduced from the original in the British Museum.
This Robert Hitch, M.P., is interred in the family vault at Leathley
Church, where a monument records with what honour and integrity he
served his king and country. Of his family of two sons and three
daughters, Henry, who was registrar of the West Riding, died March
2nd, 1765, aged 62 ; and Alathea, the youngest, married John Jordan,
colonel of the gth Regiment of Dragoons. She died in 1741, leaving
one daughter and eventual heiress, who married a Maude, and by this
family the Leathley estates were sold to Walter Ramsden Favvkes.
Richard Fawkes, of Farnley, who died in 1585, married Margaret,
daughter of Sir Thomas Johnson, Kt., whose family had an estate at
Farnley and Leathley. Henry Johnson, I find, was implicated in the
Catholic rebellion, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, and in 1570 his
estates at Leathley were surveyed, but the commissioners report that
il his lands are much entangled, and he has sold the greater part his
father left him, and what he has left he has conveyed by line to himself
and his wife and their heirs.' He built the old Elizabethan mansion
at Walton Head, in the township of Follitbot, where he resided. But
how or where he died I have not ascertained. Gallows and gibbet
were busy in many a Yorkshire village at this time, and there was
many a heart that felt for the sufferers, but the mouth dare not open, as
the blood-stain reddened upon the downthrow of the monasteries, and
the wreck of many a Wharfedale home.
The most notable object at Leathley, the church, which does not
appear ever to have been described, occupies a well-chosen site on a
piece of rising ground formed by the Kinderscout grits, and commands
a wide and beautiful view southwards. It is not mentioned in Domesday t
although the parish, which is but the township in an ecclesiastical
sense, is not unlikely, from what I have already adduced respecting the
old tribal boundaries, to have been like its neighbour Otley, the scene of
a zealous attachment to the Christian faith long anterior to the Norman
Conquest. There are indications about the present church which seem
to shew that that zeal extended so far back as the days of the early
Celtic ministry, though we have no positive knowledge that the parish
was formed until after the Norman settlement in the eleventh century.
Consequently it is pure conjecture to assume that a preaching-cross, or
even a wooden fabric^ stood here in the Saxon era, as at Guiseley, tor
)'«rX-v. Arcli.Jl., xv., 7-j. | ( )tlier local churches are mentioned in this record.
\. The churches and domestic buildings in Saxon times \\-ere built chiefly of wood,
a circumstance that may be noted in the use of the. Saxon verb, to build, sfctimbriait,
i.e., fa timber,
U4
example, dedicated to the Saxon Saint Oswald, to which the church
at Leathley is also generally ascribed.*
The original Norman churches when they possessed towers, had
them invariably placed over the centre of the building ; if they were
without — as at Adel — these were afterwards placed at the west end, so
as not to interfere with services in the church. The original church at
Leathley, however, seems to have been an uniform structure ; the west
tower with the angles of the nave, converted into buttresses, a portion
of the north wall and the chancel arch, being the only remnants of
the original building. They are similar in construction, and may be
LEATHLEY CHURCH,
even of late Norman date, though these features are often asserted
to be Saxon. The appearances may be due to the fact already explained,
of the thoroughly Saxon population lingering throughout this locality
and but little affected by any foreign influence for a long period after
the Conquest. I need only point out how the lateness is indicated by
the height, position, and solidity of the tower (it was originally built
not so much for the bells as for habitation and refuge), the small,
* This is very likely the true dedication, determined probably by the ascription to
St. Oswald, ot the Priory of Nostel, founded early in the reign of Henry I. (Dugd., vi.,
i., 91), and to which monastery the church of Leathley was afterwards given.
"5
round-headed lights, without baluster shafts, and splayed on the inside
only : the angle quoining of dressed stones, and at twenty feet from
the ground there is a horizontal course of the same masonry ; the
absence of long and short work : the thickness of the walls (at the west
door they are 50 inches thick, becoming thinner as they ascend*) all
proclaim its Xorman age. The rough rubble masonry with its widely-
plastered joints, is a characteristic of both the Saxon and Xorman
builders. A> the extent of the Norman church is still definable, it may
In- useful to give the actual dimensions of the exterior and interior parts
LEATHLEY CHURCH TOWER, SHOWING ANGLE BUTTRESS.
of the present building. The measurements were taken by myself about
a year ago, by permission (and with the kind assistance) of the rector.
Length oi exterior oi north (Norman) wall of chancel ^ tret S inchc-.
''"• do. nave ... ... ... 36 ,, 6 ,,
Lenyth of nave (interior) from the front of the tower-arch to the front
of the chancel-arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31 ,,
Width of tower (west front) outside ... ... ... ... ... 19 ,, 2 ,,
do. of angle buttresses (west face) ... ... ... each 3 ,,
Saxon wall- are rarely more than 30 inches thick. At St. Patrick's Chapel,
lley-ham, near Lancaster, they are jy in. thick, and the doorway (main entrance into
the Chapel), is 32 inches wide, a little wider than the average of Saxon doorway-.
n6
Thickness of tower-arch (bricked up behind door) ... ... about 3 feet 4 inches.
do. chancel-arch, north side ... ... ... ... ... 3 ,, 4^ ,,
do. do. south side ... ... ... ... ... 3 ,, ^ ,,
Width of chancel-arch below imposts ... ... ... ... ... 8 ,, (>
do. tower-doorway (inside), at step (.see plate opposite) ... ... 3 ,, 4 ,,
do. do. at springing1 of arch... ... ... 3 ,, 3^ ,,
Height of tower-doorway (inside) ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 ,, 2 ,,
do. from present floor-level to tower-step ... ... ... ... 3 ,,
Length of choir from back of chancel-arch ... ... ... ... 21 ,, 6 ,,
Width of chancel at altar ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i^ „ 2 ,,
do. nave between the north and south piers ... ... ... 19 ,, 6 ,,
do. north aisle from pier ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 ,, 7 ,,
do. south aisle from pier ... ... ... ... .. ... 9 ,, 5 ,,
Diameter of octagonal piers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i ,, 10 ,,
A remarkable fact in connection with these measurements is the
truly Celtic plan of the original Norman church, the nave being thirty-
one feet long, and the chancel including the thickness of the arch, about
twenty-five feet. Note also the decided Celtic feeling in the inclination,
albeit slight, in the jambs of the tower doorway. There were probably
no aisles until the additions were made in the fifteenth or early sixteenth
century. The total length outside, excluding the tower, is noteworthy,
being sixty-one feet two inches.*
There is a remarkable and very interesting rough-hewn oaken
door, six feet two inches high, filling the tower arch, inside the church,
which judging from the elaborate scroll-pattern of the hinges and
stanchions appears to be of scarcely less antiquity than the tower itself.
(See plate.,) The material forming the hinges is of rude-wrought
hammered iron and the scrolls cover almost the whole surface of the
door. The principal hinge is in the form of a reversed letter C (the door
being hinged on the north side) while the nailed bands have double
curls arranged along the top and bottom edges; the design being not
unlike that upon the ancient door of Maxstoke Priory in Warwickshire.!
Above this tower-door is an original semi-circular opening forming a
window to the second chamber of the tower, which latter was doubtless
occupied by a hermit, watchman, or sacristan, who could command a
view of the altar from within. It is about 4^ feet high in front and is
;; The usual length of the larger Christian Celtic churches was sixty feet, and this
seems to have been the case both in Kngland and Ireland. William of Malmesbury
gives a minute description of the original British church at Glastonbury, founded
A.D. 63, and this is said to have been sixty feet long anil twenty-six feet wide, almost
exactly the size of the original church at Leathley. This apparently proves what 1 have
before advanced that Christianity in Wharfedale owes more to the Celtic St. Columba
than to the Roman St. Paulinus, and a careful examination along with measurements, of
many of our early churches, would, I think, tend to confirm this. Such for example
as Stainburn, Kirk Hammerton, and Kirkdale.
f See also Plate liv. (an example dated 1 160-80) in Sernirere on les Oiw rages en Per
Forge die Moyen-Age et de la Renaissance, par I. H. de Hefner-Alteneck.
NORMAN DOOR AND WINDOW, LEATHLEY CHURCH
ri8
splayed to a depth of about 40 inches, diminishing downwards to the
inner opening which is not more than 30 inches high and 18 inches
wide (see plate). The semi-circular chancel arch is perfectly plain,
excepting that the square imposts supporting the arch have a simple
line moulding, chamfered beneath. In the chancel on the south side
is a piscina having a triangular canopy with crockets and finial. The
east window, a late Perpendicular insertion, has consisted formerly of
three trefoil-headed lights, the stanchions of which have been broken
off. The south doorway into the chancel has a square head with
hood-moulding terminating in bearded faces, and the Spandrils are
decorated. The adjoining three-light windows are of the same early
sixteenth century character. The columns of the nave are octagonal,
supporting pointed arches, on the capitals of which are various raised
designs, hitherto not explained. There is the rose (emblem of the
Virgin), the fleurs-de-lis (the Holy Trinity), a quatrefoil, and the sacred
monogram IHC. The crest or badge of the Percys (a crescent*}
appears on one of the capitals, while upon another is their fetter-lock
badge (looking like a pair of eyes) within the horns of the crescent (as
in the church at Hubberholme). The crescent is a very ancient
bearing and is claimed by the Percys probably by reason of the
prowess of some early member of the family during the wars with the
Saracens. Speaking of the heroic deeds of an early Percy an old
ballad says :
In his soliekl did schyne. a Mont- veryfying her lyght
Which to all the coste gave a perfytte syght
To vaynquys his enemys and to deth them persue
And there fair the Perries the crescent dotli renew.
The fetter-lock alone occurs on the seal of Hotspur, while the earliest
known example of the two combined is for Henry, fourth Earl of
Northumberland, who died in 1489, a descendant of whom, Eleanor,
daughter of Jocelin Percy, married William Ferrand, gent, of West
Hall near Addingham, of whom I shall speak later on. The Tau-cross
also appears on the south pier, in a similar position to that in the old
church at Weston. It is also sculptured on a Norman capital in the
White Tower, London. This crux ansata, out of which is evolved
Thor's hammer, is an emblem of security and may serve to illustrate
the old saying: "Destroy not them on whom ye shall see the letter
T."f There are two brackets on the centre piers on the north and
* This crest (a crescent, arffent} of Henry Percy, who was killed on Towton Field
in 1461, appears in the window of St. Dyonys Church, York.
f The critx ansata or " key of life," the primal cross " of life everlasting-," is a very
ancient Egyptian symbol, and its appearance in England is probably traceable to the
westward migration of the Aryan races. From Egypt it is believed to have spread first
among the Phoenicians and thence throughout the whole Semitic world from Sardinia
to Susiana, I have not seen it noted on anv church in Yorkshire.
H9
south sides for statues, or possibly to hold lamps. In the east window
a memorial to the late rector, the Rev. .\\smu-h Kawkes — are three
shields of arms inscribed with the names of Hitch, Brandling, and
Aldburgh, indicative of the Hitch family connections, previously
alluded to. There are also several mural tablets here to the sam>-
family. A more recent one commemorates a sadly remembered event.
It is inscribed
To the memory of Avscough Hawksworth Fawkes,
Midshipman, R.N., who sank with 1 1. M.S. I'ictnriu,
June 22, i Rg.'?, aged 17 years. "The sea shall give up her dead."
There are stone seats in the porch, which suggest a time when it
was usual to pay rents or discharge other obligations within the porch
of the parish church. The door-step in the porch is formed of a
thirteenth century sepulchral slab ; it bears an incised floriated cross,
with the points of the shaft turned downward (emblematic of humility).*
There are also some interesting mason-marked stones. One of the bells
bears a design of three lions, two and one, the two uppermost crowned.
In 1869 the church underwent a very thorough and careful
restoration, and was re-opened for service by the Bishop of Ripon, on
December i yth of that year. An entirely new roof was put up and two
new windows were inserted, one at the east end and the other on the
south side. The old high-backed pews were replaced by low open ones,
Some of the old pews had carved panels, bearing various owners'
initials and dates, the oldest being marked "R.A., 1621." A new organ
was also placed in the north aisle. These substantial improvements
are stated to have cost not less than ^2000, which was defrayed entirely
by the then munificent owner of the estate, Francis Hawksworth Fawkes,
Esq., of Farnley Hall.
That the ancient structure originated as I have stated through the
liberality of the mesne lords of the manor after the Conquest, appears
further confirmed by their holding five geldable carucates, or six
hundred acres, a tenth part of which was as usual, assigned for the
exclusive endowment of the priest. f These sixty acres still represent
* Mr. I.angdon in his Early Crosses of Cornwall (1890), gives about thirty purpose--
for which he found these valuable Christian memorials were being used in Cornwall,
including gate-posts, pig-troughs, rubbing-stones, door-steps, £c. One has continually
to deplore the base service to which these early and often beautiful sculptures have
been put.
f There were in addition, as we have seen, something over two carucates held by
the Crown in 1086. The manor must for a long period previously, have been in three
open fields, with a three year rotation of crops, consequently the carueate consisted of
60 acres in each field, or 120 acres for geld, while the third lav fallow. That this locality
\vashighlvfavoredinpointofcultivationatthisearlv period is evident from the fact
that the whole township contains, according to White's Directory, only 1,160 acres and
the parish i,64o~acres. But*Kelly~gives'"2io5""acres"as'the>xtent"of the'parish'and i S4'>
acres for the township, while the 6 in. Ordnance Map gives 1^69 acres for the township
I.eathley and 519' '• acres for Castley.
I2O
the precise extent of the glebe, the irrevocable gift of the squire. But
the benefice was originally held in medieties, a practice formerly
common in Wharfedale, and one not to be approved in parishes that
were small and poorly endowed. The priors of Nostel presented to a
mediety from their obtaining the advowson, sometime after the founding
•of the Priory about 1112, until 1389 when they presented to the whole
church, and continued to do so up to the dissolution of the house in
1539.* The registry of the see of York commences only with the year
1215, and in 1229 it is recorded that Nicholas de Lelay, clerk, was
instituted to a mediety of the church of Leathley, which Robert de Lelay
held at the presentation of the Prior and convent "de Parco;"
reserving the pension of four shillings to be paid by the parson. From
that time to the present we have a complete list of the rectors. In
1291 the church was taxed at £6 133. 4d., and in the new taxation,
consequent upon the disastrous raids by the Scots after Bannockburn,
when all Wharfedale was ravaged, and many of the churches ransacked
or destroyed, it was reduced to £2. The living, entered in the King's
Books as worth ^7 as. 8d., is now declared to be of the nett annual
value of £220, and the patronage is vested in the Bishop of the diocese.
The Rev. Henry Canham is the present respected rector, whose
twenty years' incumbency will always be remembered with affection and
advantage in any future estimate of religious work in the parish.! There
is much probability that the Rev. Peter Langfellow, who was rector of
Leathley from about 1500 to 1520, and (apparently the same person)
vicar of Calverley from 1475 to I5IO> was lineal ancestor of the
celebrated American poet.j There is also a fifteenth century tomb-slab
to a "Langfelaw" in Otley church which I have mentioned on page 85.
The old rectory (long since pulled down) stood in a field a little north-
west of the almshouses. It was a quaint Tudor building with central
hall open to the roof of old well-bodied thatch. There were no upper
chambers, merely a central hall with small west and east wings,
respectively the kitchen and study with bedroom of the priest. In
recent times the central hall was partitioned in two apartments and
occupied as a farm house. To the courtesy of the present rector, Mr.
Canham, I am indebted for the accompanying sketch of it.
Close to the churchyard gate is a curious example of a town
stocks, having five apertures in the oaken fall-slide, or as a native
humourously put it to me "for two an' a hawf pair o' legs." It is
""" A chartulary of the house was in 1632 in possession of C. Fairfax, Esq., of Menston.
f Mr. Canham in former years was an enthusiastic g-eolog-ist, and has done valuable
work among1 the Tertiary rocks. He has an excellent collection of fossils.
J See the English ancestry of Long-fellow in A'otes atid Queries (1882) sixth Ser.
vi. 421 &c. ; also Margerison's Calverley Registers, and Leeds Mercury Supp. (N & Q.)
for April and May, 1882.
121
therefore to he inferred that provision has been made for the unfortunate
owners of a single leg. One of the pillars of the stocks is about five
feet high and has traces of old shackle-irons near the top. It has
evidently been used as a whipping-post in those "good old times"
when it was customary to flog wrong-doers publicly until the bared
back became "bloodie by reasone of such flogging.'' The horseing
steps adjoin. Public-houses, often tempting to much dissipation among
the natives in rural villages, are now a thing of the past at Leathley
(the old Sun having been long closed), and there is now no inn between
Otley or Pool and Rigton, four miles beyond Leathley. But there is
an ample supply of pure water which issues from springs where the
*^%mst^^m.
OLD RECTORY, LEATHLEY.
rock rests on the shale. One such well is on the Stainburn road, a
litMe below the rectory, where I copied the following admonitory
inscription, cut in front of it and bearing the date 1879 :
Reader, Hear what Jesus Christ says: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never
thirst." John iv. i.V'4-
" If any man thirst let him come unto ME and drink." John vii. 37.
The Poll Tax of 1378 shews that Leathley was at that time a
famous place for clothes-making, there being no fewer than four tailors
in the village, who probably obtained the cloth from Otley and made
up suits for soldier, monk, and farmer. The village had also its arrow-
maker, who made bows and finished arrows for disposal in the market
at Otley. Many a Leathley-made arrow has doubtless shot the wild
122
game in Washburndale and on the surrounding common. Early in the
reign of Elizabeth there was a dispute as to the bounds of the
common of Leathley, and an action was entered against the Rev.
Thos. Holme, rector, and the inhabitants of Leathley, touching the
boundaries, as some encroachment appears to have been made on the
Royal Forest. In 1575 the depositions of some old men were taken
at Lindley by Sir Wm. Ingleby, Kt, Chr. Mather, John Pulleyn and
John Waterhouse. The following are the particulars which I find
among the Duchy of Lancaster Pleadings.
BOUNDARIES OF LEATHLEY COMMON.
Robert Brodebelt of Letheley husdandman 72, saith that Leathley Common
beginneth at the north end of the town of Letheley and so g-oeth to a place called
Dunyngheathwayte and from thence up Westbecke to Lansheysyke and from thence
to Cocklakes and from thence to Blacklowe and then to the Queens gate and then to a
stone called Hawray stone standing north east from Lanshay grene and from thence
to a stone north from Little Almoscliffe and so to a meare stone standing north west
from Little Almoscliffe and then to Whitnal stone standing westward from Little
Almoscliffe which by a bounder that he sawe shewed by the Earl of Northumberland
three score years since did declare the stone to be a bounder between the bondes of
Knaresborough Letheley and Lyndley. And from thence to a place called Thackslade
being south from Sandwith Bridge being a bounder between Letheley and Lyndley
and from thence to Blackpottes and from thence to a great stone in the lower end of
Guberslade and then following an old eastern dyke over Knapesyde to a mere stone
called Cable stone which is a bound between Leathley and Lyndley. And then west
to a little syke called Purle syke being at the end of the lane coming into Lyndley
towne and so following Purle syke to Ashdib and so to the water of Washburne. And
from thence to Letheley town. Humphrey Hoclgshon 77 Thos. Bradeley 60 husband-
man Richard Jenkinson husbandman 56 depose as above.
In 1752 an Act was obtained for enclosing the waste. The local
occupations now are purely agricultural, and there are some large
farm-holdings ; one of the tenants, Mr. Wm. Newby, being assessed to
the Poor Rate at ,£638, and another, Mr. Abm. Hudson, being rated
at ^504. In 1807 I find five Leathley men voted at York in the
election of knights of the shire. Their names were John Booth,
yeoman; Jeremiah Booth, jun., miller; Jeremiah Booth, gentleman;
Matthias Stead, farmer; and Francis Todd, farmer.
There is an interesting book of briefs preserved among the
Leathley records, which if they provide little information of local value,
tell us at any rate of events that were stirring England at the time.
They begin with the year 1680 and run through the period of the
Great Revolution. Under the year 1693 I find this entry, which serves
as a reminder of old-time trading difficulties with Africa and the East.
For a long period the North African sea-pirates plundered every
English and foreign merchant vessel they could lay hands on, taking
the men prisoners and demanding heavy ransoms.
Collected in ye parish of Leathley 6th and 7th October, by vertue of their Maj1^8
Letters Patent for ye redemption of poore distressed captives in Algiers, Sallay, and
other places in Barbary and ye coaste of Africa ye sum of i6s. and 3d. paid by Thomas
123
Kradlrv, pn •-( lit rhurrluvardrii, to \r hand ot mi- Thomas Holmes (official to \ •<•
KVvtTcnd Dr. Chrtwood, An-luli-aron ol' vc \\Vsi Riding n( Vorkc) who hath ffivon
acquittance tor vr -aim-.
Then ,-igain in 1700 the sum of 2 is. 91!. was collected at Leathley
for " the redemption of poore Protestant captives under the Empire of
Fez and Morocco," and in 1703^2 55. id. was collected "for and
towards the support and maintenance of the poore distressed Protestants,
late inhabitants within ye principality of Orrange, and by Popish
cruelty banished from thence." In 1684 there was collected in the
church the sum of 4s. nd. towards the relief of the inhabitants of
Runswick in the North Riding, who had lately suffered by flood and
earthquake. Is anything further known of this "earthquake"?
The old school and almshouses at Leathley are on the opposite
side of the road to the church. They were founded in 1769 by Mrs.
Ann Hitch, who left £12 a year for the master, and £4 each for four
almspeople, out of lands at Felliscliffe, appointing trustees, among
whom were the lord of the manor and the rectors of Leathley and Adel.
An interesting inmate of one of these dwellings was the late Mrs
Elizabeth Watson, whom I visited on Sept. 27th, 1898, or about a
month before her death, which took place on Oct. 26th. She was then
in her 1041)1 year, and to all appearances in the best of health; she
told me she had not got over the effects of a fall some months
previously, yet her freshness and vivacity were astonishing. She was
rather a little woman with small features, black hair, (with scarcely a
trace of grey) and a fresh, ruddy complexion, heightened somewhat
by the scarlet shawl she was accustomed to wear while sunning herself
at the door of her humble dwelling ; a little ruse, excusable enough, to
attract public attention. Her hearing and sight were wonderfully
good, and she could pick up a pin or thread a needle without the aid
of spectacles.* In answer to my enquiry whether she had walked
much lately, she said that the accident above mentioned had prevented
her from venturing far from home, but in the summer previous (then
aged 102) she had walked with her "baby" (her youngest daughter,
aged 63) with whom she lived, to Otley and back, a distance of about
five miles. Like all long-livers she was partial to outdoor life and
exercise. She was blessed to the end with a clear memory, and
amongst the singular recollections she related was that of seeing the
last man gibbeted on Attercliffe Moor, near Sheffield, for robbing the
mail. Presently I approached her on her general habits of living and
remarked, " Well, I suppose Mrs. Watson you will like a drop of gin in
your tea, aye?" "Gin!" she exclaimed quite wrathfully, "I've been a
* In this respect she resembled another Leathley centenarian, one John Proctor,
who when in his second century was able to read without spectacles,
T24
teetotaller all my life. Them 'at wants to be ailin let 'em tak to drink,"
she went on to say, "but them 'at wants to keep reight they mun stick
to waiter, there's nowt like gooid watter, thank God." I quite agreed
with the old lady that temperance and regular exercise are to be
counted the main factors to longevity, yet what are we to make of the
case of the man Whittington, of Hellingdon, who died at the age of
104, and who attributed his length of years to the astounding fact that
he drank daily a full pint of the best London gin !
Mrs. Watson was born at South Hampole, near Doncaster, on
Sept. ist, 1795, and was christened at Hooton Pagnell church, when
about ten years old. Her father, George Cut (who seems to have been
blessed with a steady, unperturbed nature), was coachman for nearly
forty years to the Rev. Geo. Allott, rector of South Kirkby, and died at
the age of no. He had a brother, an army pensioner, who had been
wounded at Waterloo, and who lived, it is said, to be 115. Mrs.
Watson was the eldest of a family of ten, and she herself was the
mother of thirteen children. Her husband, George Watson, who had
been a hind in the service of Lord Mexborough, lived to be 99, and
his grandmother is stated to have attained the age of 107. Altogether
the family longevity seems to have been contagious.
Some little distance from the village stands the old manor-house
of Leathley, the seat of Thos. Lister Ingham, Esq. It is an interesting
Elizabethan edifice, but as before remarked, with extensive additions
made principally in the early part of the last century. For many
years after the Hitches left it, the hall was tenanted by farmers. The
surroundings are beautifully rural and retired, which the summer
rambler will appreciate as he passes the vicinity of the hall into an
old green lane that leads to the highway for Pool and Otley.
It is also a pleasant walk past Riffa* Wood hill and by briery
lanes, banked with wild flowers, to the old Domesday vill of Castley,
in the parish of Leathley. A more retired and secluded hamlet than
this it would be difficult to find, yet in its hey-day it has been a place
of no small importance, boasting of an ancient earthen camp or castle-
hill, a manor-house and a hall. The latter I gather from Thoresby,
writing in 1702, was built shortly before that time by "Mr. Robert
Dyneley, the second son of my late good old friend, Robert Dyneley,
Esq.," who was buried at Bramhope, in May, 1728. The hall is now
a farm-house and is raised on an older structure, once the home of the
Arthingtons. Since the Leeds and Harrogate railway was made,
* Riffa, from the Norm. Fr. rive, Ital. riva, Lat. ripa, a river or stream-bank. The
Riffa Beck here bounds the old Forest of Knaresbro', doubtless on an old tribal
boundary. Riva, on the bank of Lake Como ; and Rief, on Lake Garda, have the same
meaning ; so has Ripon on the Yore.
rutting through Castley and necessitating huge embankments which
half conceal it, the village has steadily declined in population. In
1831 (the top year of its modern prosperity), there were between
twenty and thirty houses in the place including an inn, (the old Malt
Shovf/,} with a census return of 118. Now the population is less than
half that number while the inhabited houses are about a dozen.
Castley, in Saxon times had been in two manors, which in 1086
were farmed by a homager of William de Percy, one Ebrard, the same
who held the Percy lands at Leathley. In 1284 the manor was held by
Richard de Goldsburgh and William de Castellay, for the fourth part of
a Knight's Fee, of the heirs of Percy. In 1315 the same William de
Castellay, or his son of that name, was returned as lord of the manor of
Castley, but the Goldsboroughs continued to hold some land at Castley
down to the time of Queen Elizabeth. The family of De Castley was,
like the De Leathleys, in all probability descendants of the pre-Conquest
owners, and their names appear in early land transactions and as
witnesses to local grants and quit-claims from an early period.* On the
south side of the railway, near the old manor-house, is a piece of ground
known as Chapel Field ; doubtless the site of a small oratory
founded by one of these Castleys. A stone coffin, I am told, was found
here some years ago. A similar oratory still exists at Downholme,
near Richmond, and there was one at Hartlington, near Burnsall, and
others in Yorkshire, of whose history nothing is known. f A John de
Castlay and Richard de Castelay appear in the Poll Tax of 1378, and
a Richard de Castelay gave lands at Bingley to the monks of Drax.J
Members of the family were liberal benefactors to Fountains Abbey§
William, son of Gilbert de Castelai gave two oxgangs of land here, with
his share of the mill and its pool, and the services of Henry de
Westcoght for the said mill, reserving the right of having his corn
ground there mulcture free ; they, the monks of Fountains, paying three
shillings to the canons "de Parco."
The canons of Bolton Priory had the mill at CastleyH" but where the
old mill stood or when it was demolished no one now seems to know.
The manor afterwards followed the fortunes of its neighbour, Leathley,
passing through the hands of the Lindleys, Hitches, and Maudes, to
the present lord of Farnley. The Maudes appear to have been
connected with Leathley at an early date, for among the deeds at
Farnley Hall is one relating to Fountains Abbey lands in Stainburn,
* See Pedes Finium Ebot (A.D. 1224) Surtees Soc. Pub. xciv. 85.
f See the author's Richnmndshire, pages 218, 347, 368, &c.
£ .SVr the author's Old Bingley p. 1 15. § Burton's Mon. Ebor. p. 191.
€ S,, ( 'ompotus of Bolton Abbey for i 290 : Whitaker's Craven, 3rd ed., pp. 449, 4=55.
witnessed by " William Mohaut de Litheley." The old manor-house has
not been occupied since 1896, and is now fast falling to ruin; yet what
a grand situation it occupies, high above old Wharfe, commanding a
charming sweep of woodland and river. 'Tis a beautiful natural picture,
and a perpetual feast, one would think, to the tenant of this historic
place ! When I last visited the spot a year ago, it was a bright autumn
morning, and the gray old ruined mansion looked calmly beautiful in
its loneliness, with its ancient bit of garden-ground run wild with still
blooming marigolds and bed of sweet violets. An air of old-time poesy
breathed about the whole place, and fixed me to the spot enraptured
for many moments. How the mind of the poet and the antiquary
fondly turns to scenes such as these, recalling the many changes of the
place and of faces and forms that have vanished, and of the fleeting
works of man, while Nature alone is ever young and fair. The same
rivers do run, the merry becks do sing, the green fields are renewed,
and the hedge-rows put forth the sweet scent of May-bloom, just as they
did in the days of Norman and Saxon and Dane. Perhaps the old
hedged camp (which may have originated the name of Castle-hay) close
to the railway a short distance to the north, may link the lords of
pre-Conquest ages with the owners of the old Castley manor-house now
ebbing away !
CHAPTER VII.
ROUND ABOUT POOL.
Pool Bridge A rare It-rn — History of Pool— Local monastic possessions -Old families
— Old trades and inns -The church — Picturesque aspects — Local mansions— Leeds
and Otley turnpike — Cycling scenes— Caley Hall, an old hunting-lodge of the
Gascoignes — Park stocked with deer, zebras, &c.
GREEN and flowery lane leads from ancient Castley, just
described, over Pool Bridge to the pleasant village of
Pool, still in the old parish of Otley. The fields on the
river adjacent to the bridge are called Street Closes, a
name that suggests the vicinity of a Roman road, but
the Roman road from Adel to Illdey passed a good mile to the south
of the river. Pool Bridge is a fine broad structure, well-known to certain
naturalists up to its being re-pointed some years ago, as harbouring in
its crevices a very rare fern, Ceterach officinarum, or scale-fern, though
how it became fixed in such a spot and continued there year after year,
has always been a mystery. The fern is now almost extinct in
Yorkshire, though quite recently I have seen it wild in two places
between Dent Head and Sedbergh, and I have also found it in profusion
in the limestone tracts about Loch Corrib in Connemara. In the Act
obtained in 1 793 for widening and repairing certain roads &c. in the
parish, it was ordered that "there shall be a convenient bridge for
carriages, erected over the river Wharfe at or near Pool, and the roads
repaired from thence over the west side of a field called Becklands,
through the village of Leathley, and over the west end of Leathley
Common to Stainburn Beck" &c.
In Domesday, Pool appears as Pouele, doubtless from the A-S. pol,
cognate with the Celt, pwll, a pool or lake, like the famous Poole in
Dorset, associated with the Danish ravages, and Blackpool, the well-
known Lancashire sea-side resort, named from a large marsh, now
drained. Poulton, near Blackpool, and Poulton, near Morecambe,
have the same significance. Our Wharfedale Pool was included in the
original grant to the see of York, and was held at an early period by
the Goldsburgh family of the Archbishops. It is mentioned in Kirkby's
Inquest (1284-5), and in the Nomina Villarum (1315) Ricardus de
Goldesburgh is returned as lord of the manor of Pouill. The manor
continued in possession of this family till 1596, when Richard
Goldsborough, Esq., and Elizabeth, his wife, sold the same to Michael
128
Wentworth, Esq., of Creskeld, who in 1599 purchased Woolley from
their kinsfolk, the Woodroves.* Sir George Wentworth, who married
a daughter of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, and who died in 1660, left the
manors of Pool, Creskeld, Maltby, Arthington, Wadlands, and Bracken-
holme, to be divided amongst his three daughters. The manor of
Pool is now held by Fred. Hawksworth Fawkes, Esq., J.P., of Farnley.
The monks of Arthington and Kirkstall had lands in Pool.f Also
Malger, son of Wm. de Pouella, gave all his land in Castley, being
three acres on the east side of the way or ford, called Haldwadford in
Poolholme, in Castley, to the monks of Fountains, which was confirmed
by Robert, son of Wm. Bram de Powel. The name of this old family
of De Pool or Pouil, occurs in local deeds of early date, but the first
dated mention I find in the Great Roll of the Exchequer, where Hugo
de Pouilla renders account of five marks due from lands, nth Henry II.
(1164). The family had also property in Farnley in the reign of
King John, as appears by fine entered in 1202 between Thomas fitz
Hugh and Serlo de Pouele and others, respecting a quit-claim of thirty
acres of land with appurtenances in that place. The name is not
found in the Pool poll-tax of A.D. 1378, although it was then surviving
in the neighbourhood at Lindley. For fully a century following this
dat , we have little knowledge of either people or events in Pool. In
the Subsidy Roll for Pool for the year 1523 appears the names of John
Yngland, William Smethe, Thos. Rawlynson, Henry Laghelyn, John
Tomlynson, Henry Myrghefeld, and Wm. Skachard. The Wentworths,
who obtained the manor of Pool in the reign of Elizabeth, were of the
same family as of Wentworth Woodhouse, and progenitors of the
eminent but unfortunate statesman, Thomas, Earl of Strafford, who was
born on Good Friday, 1593, at the London house of his maternal
grandfather, Mr. Robert Atkinson, a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn. Sir
Thomas, afterwards Earl, it may be noted, had in 1620-1 by some
means got possessed of the patronage ot Kirkby Malham Church, and
the family had also at this time various relationships with families in
Wharfedale and Upper Airedale.
The Atkinsons, who were originally seated in Westmorland, and
afterwards at Leeds, also appear as landowners at Pool in the
seventeenth century. Among the Norcliffe Evidences at Langton
Hall are a number of deeds relating to the Atkinsons of Leeds and
Creskeld, near Pool. William Atkinson, of Creskeld, by his will dated
*See Yorks. Archl.JL, vol. xii., p. 5, 17.
f Burton's Mon. Ebor. p. 89, 295. In 1459 James Cawdray paid 2s. rent t<> Kirkstall
Abbey for a little meadow in Poell field (Thoresby Soc. Pub. ii. 12). The meadow
evidently described in the original grant as Dipe-Ker.
I2Q
Dec. 5th, 1682, desires to be buried at Adel, and leaves his son and
heir, Henry, lands in Pool called Hardcastle Farm, besides certain
property to other of his children.* In 1694 the family sold to the
Garforths certain messuages &c. at Pool, called Dawcroft, Red Ing,
Sun Ing, &c. Henry Atkinson was living at Caley Hall at this time
and married in 1722 a daughter of Francis Fawkes, M.P., of Farnley,
by whom he had a son, Henry, who died without issue.f
About a century ago the woollen cloth trade was somewhat
extensively carried on at Pool, until in the winter of 1795, the fulling-
mills of Messrs. Close & Co. were almost wholly destroyed by fire, and
damage was done to the extent of about ^2,000. They were soon
afterwards run as paper-mills by Messrs. Weir & Co.J Subsequently the
woollen manufacture was carried on by Messrs. Millthorp and Burnley,
and there was also at the time (now about seventy years ago) a good
trade done in the manufacture of washleathers, as well as in paper-
making and in the making of paste-board. There were then three inns
in the village, the White Hart, the Craven Heifer, and a beer-house.
The Rev. A. E. Meredith, vicar of Pool, about six years ago purchased
one of the inns and converted it into a temperance-refreshment house,
and the old beer-house he has leased and since used as a Parish Room.
In 1898 Mr. Meredith was succeeded by the Rev. H. A. Woodhouse,
who had been senior curate at Otley. § Pool Hall, at the west end of
the village, is a last century erection, built on the site of an older
mansion, the home of several notable families alluded to in other parts
of this work.
The church at Pool, formerly a small building with belfry, and
prior to 18 79 'when the parish was formed, a chapel-of-ease to Otley,
stands very pleasantly about the middle of the village. It was enlarged
in 1840 and the tower was built at the same time. Its walls and the
surrounding graveyard are a picture of luxuriant rusticity, clothed and
* Yorks. Anhl. Jl. iii. 76.
f For Pedigree of Atkinson w Burke's Landed (ientn1.
t A singular and forgotten incident may here be mentioned. In 1793 while three
workmen were doing- .some repairs to the cotton-mills on the Wharfe at Otley, the river
suddenly rose and overthrew the platform on which thev were --landing-. All three men
were drowned, and two of the bodies were immediately afterwards recovered, but that
of the third, one Wm. Standeven, could not be found, nor was it discovered until
fourteen years afterwards (May, 1807), when the completely skeletoni/ed body wa-
found lodged between two stones in Pool Walk Mill dam. This remarkable discovery
was made while searching the river for a notorious character named William Lamb,
who was thought to have been drowned after a drinking bout when on his way home
to Stainburn. Lamb had only three weeks before been whipped in Otley Market Place
for theft. His body was afterwards found near Hare wood Bridge.
>j A complete list of the curates of Pool has not been published. In 1675-6 John
riiomlinsoti was licensed t<> the curacy of Pool, Yarks. Anhl.Jl. ii. i 10
covered as they are with trailing ivy and roses, tall, climbing fuchsias,
ferns, and a variety of other sweet emblems of mortality. There are
also some particularly fine weeping ash-trees in the burial-yard. The
chancel was added in 1891 as a memorial to Mrs. Francis Meredith,
mother of the late vicar. It is built after the manner of early Christian
churches in the form of a Roman basilica, and has three single colored
lights at the sides. On a small brass on the chancel floor is inscribed :
John Pullein, April 5, 1842; Ann Pullein, March 17, 1851; Fanny Pullein, March 29,
1856; John Pullein, March 12, 1866.
There are also other memorials in the church to the families of
Atkinson, of Caley, Stott, Fieldhouse, and Curry. In the churchyard is
a handsome granite monument to the memory of George Wood, Esq.,
M.A., Oxon, of the Inner Temple, J.P., who died at Caley Hall, in
the parish of Pool, in 1879, aged 54. Also a similar monument to
Col. Wm. Child, late of Troutbeck, in the parish of Pool, who was
founder and for twenty-seven and a half years Commanding Officer of
the 2nd West York (Leeds) Engineer Volunteers. He died in 1889,
aged 67. There are also other beautiful and noteworthy memorials
in this pretty churchyard.
Many of the houses of the gentry about Pool are most pleasantly
situated, and have charming gardens around them. Troutbeck, which
I have just mentioned, was built by Col. Child, and is now owned and
occupied by Thos. Swallow, Esq., who has planted a remarkable thorn
avenue reaching from the gateway for nearly a hundred yards towards
the house, and forming a kind of triumphal arch, whose variegated
bloom and delicious perfume are most attractive in the later days of
Spring. In this neighbourhood, the common hawthorn, when growing
alone, attains quite stately proportions, in contrast with the stunted
specimens found in the higher and more elevated parts of the dale.
Many of these trees in the fields about Pool, are from twenty to thirty
feet high, and bulky in proportion ; in Spring they usually put on a
lovely mass of snowy blossom, which later yield a profusion of crimson
fruit. Beautiful looks the valley too when viewed from some convenient
standpoint. From Pool Bank there is a charming prospect, and far
down the richly wooded landscape we can just descry the old Castle of
Harewood with the noble mansion of the Earls of Harewood rising
proudly from an apparent jungle of foliage.
Ascending Pool Bank we reach the Leeds and Otley turnpike at
the Dyneley Arms hotel, where are pleasant tea-gardens, &c. This is
a favorite rendezvous of cyclists, and often on the Saturday half-holiday,
if the day be fine, it is astonishing to see this magnificent highway,
broad and level as a table top, crowded with cyclists of both sexes, and
clad in a variety of costumes, gliding rapidly to and fro, and reminding
one of some Continental boulevard on a similar fete day. Tin- road
towards Bramhope is bordered with lofty and well-grown trees, forming
a splendid avenue, which adds not a little to the picturesqueness of
thesr busy gathtjrings. This fine road, I may add, was surveyed and
laid out about sixty years ago by the late Mr. George Haywood, of
Ik-adingley Hall.
Midway between Otley and Bramhope, but in the township of
Pool, stands Caley Hall, a very old and interesting mansion, and in all
probability the only survivor of an ancient hamlet of that name. The
place gave name to an old family, and in the reign of Edward III., one
John de Caylli de Poule appears party to a transaction concerning
lands in Stockeld.* In the fifteenth century it was a hunting-lodge of
the Gascoignes, and subsequently the Daltons, to one of whom there is a
monument in Otley Church, occupied it. About the end of the seven-
teenth century the Atkinsons, already mentioned, were living here, and
they sold the estate to the Fawkes family sometime before 1750. The
hall or lodge then consisted of the south room and kitchen only. The
drawing-room was added by the Cloughs, and the dining-room, which
now looks so old, was really not built until about fifty years ago. It
was designed by Miss Charlotte Fawkes, of Farnley, and was lined
with oak panels on which were depicted scenes of hunting and shooting,
with portraits of the people then living in the neighbourhood. The
pictures, or some of them, were drawn by George Walker, of Killing-
beck, author of Costumes of Yorkshire, and were painted on the
panels by a carriage-painter from Leeds, whose name I have not
ascertained. The whole of the panelling is now at Farnley.
Afterwards the hall was occupied for some years by Dr. John
Raistrick, who had been in the navy and was a noted short-horn
breeder. He made many improvements in the house and gardens.
It was a charming retired place, and when the owners, about
1820, made the park, they had it stocked with a numerous and
splendid herd of red and fallow deer, besides goats and some
not very approachable wild-swine. Mr. Fawkes also procured
several beautiful zebra horses, and a handsome specimen of
the axis, or wild jungle-stag of India, and these might have been seen
roaming about the wide and fertile domain up to about the year 1840,
when the road I have mentioned was made, which cut the park in two,
and the animals were destroyed.
* Yorks* Co. Mag. i. 34. For Pedigrees of Calr\ , Co. York., \(v .S'///Y<r.v .S'<«-.,
vol. 36, p. 125, 196-7; Burke'.s funded Gentry; Yorks. Arch. Jl., vol. i. p. 232, 303, &c.
CHAPTER VIII.
BRAMHOPE.
Mean in i,r of Hramhopc Situalion and wide view Roman camp I Ii-torical records
Land cuhivated I'roin ancient tinu^ Tin- Dome-dav carucatc Dyneley family
Local monastic properties Tenants in bondage Kramhope Hall— The Rhodes
and Darwin families The old chapel erected during the era ot the Commonwealth
— The old churchyard The new church of St. Ciiles The \\Ysleyan Chapel
The Craven Institute.
BRAMHOPE is an ancient and pleasant village, called
' perhaps after some chief; one Braam being lord of
Yeadon and Esholt after the Conquest ; though it is
more probable to be derived from the A.-S. bram, broom.
Mr. Francis Darwin informs me that the bank in front
of his house in Bramhope is called Broom Bank, and that in his
grandfather's time it had much broom growing on it.* The village
occupies an open acclivity, commanding a wide view to the north and
east ; on a fine day the towers of York Minster being distinctly visible.
On the high ground about a mile to the south of the village ran the
Roman road from Tadcaster to Ilkley, previously mentioned, which is
still in evidence as a grass-grown raise in a wood near Marsh Plantation,
a little west of this place Near an old farmstead called Camp House
are the remains of what seems likely to have been a castra astira, or
summer station, which is described by Thoresby in his Diary for the
year 1702. "Upon Bramhope Moor in the place now called Stadtfolds
[Latin, stativa; A-S. staede, modern German stadt, a station or town] we
saw another large camp, but this has a double agger, though by its
squareness and the leading of the via ricinalis thereunto, it seems also
to have been Roman. "f The road from the camp goes westwards by
Green Gates and may be traced near Carlton Workhouse and again on
Guiseley Moor.
That Bramhope was a well cultivated and populous territory in
Anglo-Saxon times is evident from the Domesday testimony. It is
recorded there were eight caruca'tes to be taxed before 1066, where
the land was to four ploughs. There was also underwood half a leuga
* A rather late glossary printed in Wright's collection defines the word "brame"
by the Latin words tribulits and vvpres. The ordinary word "bramble" is a diminutive
of "brame," the second "b" in "bramble" being intrusive. See the words "bramble"
and "broom" in the New English Dictionary.
f See also Simpson's Adel, p. 77.
134
in length and two quaranteens in breadth ; the whole manor being one
leuga in length and one in breadth. The quaranteen is the "furlong,"
that is the side of the areal acre, and the square leuga of Domesday is
demonstrated to contain 1440 statute acres. The township of Bramhope
is now stated on the 6 inch map to contain 1396 acres. Here, then, is a
manor providing a singular illustration of the intricate problems of
Domesday. According to Cannon Isaac Taylor this would I suppose,
be regarded as a three-field manor, worked as from pre-Conquest times,
by a three-year rotation of crops. In three-field manors, he tells us, the
Domesday carucata ad geldum was normally sixty acres, the land tilled in
one year by one plough, while terra ad unam carucam was 120 acres,
the land tilled in both fields in one year by one plough, and the whole
carucate including fallow (which was not taxed, and is consequently not
included in Domesday) was 180 acres, or 120 acres for taxation and
60 untaxed fallow. In two-field manors, both the carucata. ad geldum
and the lerra ad iinum carucam were 80 acres, and the whole
cnrucate, including fallow, 160 acres, by the reckoning locally used,
either the Norman hundred of five score or the English hundred of six
score. There must consequently by this theory have been 1440 acres
in cultivation in Bramhope in 1066, or 960 subject to the geld, while the
rest of the manor must have been turned to profitable account. But the
geld carucate, I take it, bears no constant relation to areal measurement,
and what may be found to apply to some manors does not apply to all.
Ploughs though normally of eight oxen were not always of this strength.
The returns of Domesday are and were intended from the outset to be a
return of the actual taxable value of the land, and what was of no
worth was not taxed, and consequently does not appear. This is
especially applicable, as I have before pointed out, to ecclesiastical
property and in the case of Saxon churches now standing, which as they
were then of no value are not mentioned in the Domesday inquest.
The Domesday geld carucate was therefore meant to be essentially a
unit of assessment rather than a certain measure of the extent of a
manor.*
Bramhope before 1066 had been worth forty shillings, but when
Gilbert Tyson had the estate granted to him together with ten others in
the West Riding, it was "all waste;" the people had either died or fled
or were suffering from extreme poverty: Uchil, the pre-Conquest owner,
* The elaborate calculations made by Mr. Pell in the Doomsday Commemoration
volumes (1888) (pp. 227-326) must surely fall to the ground so far as this part of
Yorkshire is concerned. The kernel of Fleta's carucate it is true was the geldable unit
of 120 acres of sown land, but how are we to reconcile a manor which seems never to
have contained as much as 1400 acres with the assumed square leuga of 1440 acres.
Granting- even that the woodland was not taxed, it was still parcel of the manor,
must have sorrowed at seeing his fair acres •' wasted '' before him, hut on
the Norman adjustment he was permitted to hold the manor as a vassal
of the foreign conqueror. Though afterwards taken into the ancient
parish of Otley, Bramhope I should state, formed no part of the
Archbishop's liberty of Otley. Tyson had extensive possessions in
Lincolnshire and Notts., but in 1095 he was deprived of his barony, and
his estates were divided between Nigel de Albini and Ivo de Vesci.*
Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Henry, Lord Vesci, married
John, Lord Clifford, "black-faced Clifford," or "bloody Clifford" of
Shakespeare's Henry VI., whose grandson Henry, Earl of Cumberland,
sold the manor of Bramhope to William Dyneley of Bramhope, in
1546. He died in 1586 and was buried in the chancel of Otley church,
where many of the Dyneleys are laid. This family was descended from
the Dyneleys of Downham, co Lanes temp, Edward II. and they have
continued in possession of Bramhope until the present century, f The
land is all freehold and is now held by various owners.
It is interesting to note that to the north of the hall is a tract of
flat ground called Lammas Field, which, when the lands were common
lands was closed until Lammas Day for the purpose of hay-
making. It was then open to the common stock. For this information
I am indebted to Mr. Darwin, of Creskeld. It affords a very interesting
and late instance of the survival of the ancient common-field system, —
the fields jacetitfs in communi of a medieval manor, the existence of
which is recorded in the preambles to many of the Enclosure Acts of
the time of George III. By the Statute of Merton (1235) it was
enacted that every tenant on a manor should have a proportionate right
with the lord over the waste lying near the fields, and only when the
waste was larger than what the tenants required, could the lord
encroach upon or enclose any part of it. Here at Bramhope these
ancient Lammas Fields were thrown open in August to all tenants and
villagers on the manor after harvest-time, a very wasteful method
surely, since the land after cropping could rarely be manured, or
sufficiently manured, before next seed-time. The tardy progress of
enclosures kept agriculture in a very backward state, and even after the
restoration of the Stuarts, when England had greatly recovered from
the effects of the Civil War, half the land in England lay unenclosed
and uncultivated.
The abbey of Kirkstall and the priory of Arthington had lands in
Bramhope,| and the monks of Kirkstall also had the water-mill here,
.Sir Yorks. Archl.Jl. xiii. 117 n.
f For pedigree of Dyneley of Bramhope, s<-i> Whitakrr's Loidis and Elmete, p. 198,
and Foster's Visitation of Yorks. (1875).
* Hurt oil's ,1 fini. Ebor. p. 88 and 291,
i36
which they let to the hospital of St. Leonard's, York, at an annual
rent says Burton, of 45., but 405. is the amount entered in the Kirkstall
Abbey rent roll of 1459.* As appears by one of the thirteenth century
grants to this monastery, there were then tenants in bondage at
Bramhope, over whose bodies, born and unborn, as also of his cattle,
the lord had power of disposal by gift or sale. To the monks of
Kirkstall we find this gift by Roger, son of Hugh de Leathley and
Christian, his mother, viz.: of eleven oxgangs, with tofts, crofts, and
all the men in the village, with their families and cattle ; a grant which
Hugh's grandson, Adam de Leathley, fully confirmed. In 1226 Emma,
widow of Henry de Morton, gave the Abbey half a carucate of land in
Haldefelde, in exchange for a like area in Bramhope. This no doubt
has reference to the Kirkstall Abbey estate at Morton, in Bingley
parish, where the monks had a grange, probably the old farm known
as Elam Grange. In 1285 the Abbot of Kirkstall for himself and
successors, obtained a charter of free warren in their demesne lands at
Bramhope, Collingham, Bardsey, &c.
Bramhope Hall, the old manor house (of which I give a view from
a photograph by my relative, Mr. John J. Stead) was long the home
of the Dyneleys, and at the entrance to the kitchen is a shield bearing
the fess and mullets of the family. About 1808 a Leeds merchant named
Christopher Smith purchased the estate. He died in 1846 and his only
child, Ann, became the wife of William Rhodes, into whose hands the
property then passed, and whose family are still the owners. He was
formerly Captain of the igth Lt. Dragoons, and died in 1869, aged 77.
He left a family of four sons and two daughters, one of his sons
being Lt.-Col. Wm. Rhodes, 68th Lt. Infantry, who was for some time
Minister of Agriculture for the province of Quebec, Canada, a member
of the Provincial Parliament and a Justice of the Peace. He was born
at Bramhope Hall in 1821 and died at Benmore, Quebec, in 1892,
aged 71, and was buried there. The hall has been tenanted now some
years by James Burnley, Esq., J.P., of Bradford.
Near the hall stands the old chapel (not used since 1881) which is
interesting as being one of the very few edifices in this country erected
for public worship during the unsettled period of the great Civil War.
(See also BURLEY). It was founded by Robert Dyneley, Esq., an ardent
and unswerving Puritan, together with the freeholders, in 1649, or
almost immediately after England was declared a Commonwealth. An
estate of about 130 acres, taken from the wastes and commons at
Bramhope, was vested in trustees, and the proceeds were to be applied
"towards the maintenance of an able and godly minister," as well as for
* Thoresby Soc. ii. 4; also viii. 15.
137
the erection of a minister's residence. The chapel is said never to have
been consecrated, and at the Restoration in 1660 it fell under the
jurisdiction of the Church of England.* Oliver Heywood, the eminent
Puritan divine, was a frequent visitor at Bramhope Hall, as related in
his Diaries.
The chapel possesses no architectural merit, being a plain stone
building in the poorest style of post-Reformation Gothic, with rough-
cast walls, and a bell-turret at the west end. The interior has been
THE OLD CHAPEL, BRAMHOPE
neatly restored, and partly re-pewed, though some of the old square
pews remain. There is also a quaint pulpit, with sounding-board, and a
font dated 1673. There are some neat memorial tablets on the walls to
the families of Dyneley, Smith, Rhodes, Silvester, Driver, and Leyland.
The registers are at Otley. In the churchyard at the east end are a
couple of fine old beech-trees, whose ample and spreading branches
cast a sombre shadow over the old building. Here are two beautiful
tomb-stones (shewn in the engraving) placed over the graves of the
above William Rhodes, who died July i5th, 1869, and Charlotte Maria
* See Taylor's Churches of Yorkshite (1875) pp. 210-14; a'so 'he Bradford Antiquary
(1X98), pp. 325-34, and Miall's Congregationalism in Yorkshire, p. 24.^.
Cooper Darwin, first wife of Francis Darwin, Esq., of Creskeld Hall.
She died June 22nd, 1885.
The new church at Bramhope (St. Giles), dedicated after the old
chapel which stood behind the hall in a field now called Chapel Garth,
was erected in 1881, and stands picturesquely at the junction of the Leeds
and Cookridge roads. It is a handsome and substantial building and is
particularly noteworthy for its superior stained glass. The colored
east window is a very chaste and rich example of the art, and there are
several other beautiful stained windows dedicated as me'morials to
members of the family of Mr. Francis Darwin, of Creskeld Hall, and
also to the families of Rawson, Craven, North, and Wm. Myers (Mr.
Darwin's steward). The handsome reredos in the church is a memorial
erected by her sisters to Frances Elizabeth Ellershaw, who died in
Central Africa, July gth, 1897.
Bramhope also possesses a handsome new Wesleyan Church,
which occupies a prominent site, and is a conspicuous landmark for
many miles round. It is in the decorated Gothic style, with nave,
transepts, chancel, and organ recess. The east window is filled with
beautiful stained glass, and is a memorial to the late Mr. Henry Fawcett,
The buildings, including Sunday School and caretaker's house, have
incurred an expenditure of about ^3000. The opening ceremony was
performed in September 1896, by Mrs. S. T Fawcett, of Leeds, and
the Rev. Marshall Randies, President of the Conference, afterwards
preached an appropriate sermon.
The "Craven Institute" at Bramhope was founded by will (dated
nth June, 1888, and proved at Wakefield 3ist May, 1889) of an old
resident at Bramhope, the late Mr. Robert Craven, who left a
considerable sum of money in the hands of trustee^. These were the
vicar of Bramhope, the Rev T. R. Bruce, Mr. Thos. Whiiham, of
Bramhope, and Mr. John Yeadon, of Otley, who were empowered to
dispose of it at their discretion to charitable objects. A memorial
institute was decided upon, and this was erected at a cost of about
^2000, exclusive of the site, and was opened in May, 1897.
The old school at Bramhope seems to have been founded by a
township enclosure in 1809, and according to the Schools Inquiry
Commission in 1869 the property was then vested with two trustees,
namely, Francis Darwin, Esq., of Creskeld Hall, and R. D. Dyneley,
Esq., of Bramhope. Mr. Darwin, however, informs me that he never
was a trustee for this school. The report says that the Dyneley family
property in Bramhope was at some time last century divided into two
parts, and that the elder of two brothers retained Bramhope Hall, which
was sold about 1808 (not 1820) to Christopher Smith, as before related.
In 1866 the estate, with the manor, was bought by Miss Dawson.
RIGHT HON. W. E FORSTER.
CHAPTER IX.
BURI.EY.
I'ht- old cotton mill and how it was worked— The new mills — Burley in the van of
progress— Historical records— Meaning- of Burley — Local families — Descent of the
manor — Monastic possessions — The church— The late Rev. Dr. Black — The Maude
family— Notable houses — Recent alterations— Burley Great Pudding- — Burley Hall
— Local Worthies— Handsome memorial to the late Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster —
Greenholme Mills, a model factory — Mr. Wm. Fison and the late Mr. Forster —
Local benefactions — Anecdote of Mr. Forster--His death and funeral— The poet
Watson,
URLEY, observes Dr. Whitaker, "is a delightful village,
tfiough contaminated physically and morally by a cotton
mill." Little else does he say, inasmuch as the learned
author's notice of this interesting old place is contained
in less than four lines. Cotton mills or trad in <*
o
concerns of any kind were especially repugnant to the refined feelings
of Craven's century-old historian, but we in these later days have
grown accustomed to such like factors of economic development ,
factors that have played a very important part in the civilising
processes of the past hundred years. We have come to regard the
erection of a mill in its proper place, not indeed as a retrograde
movement, but as the sign rather of social progress and for the
common good. The mill in question has a more than local and
ordinary interest, being the primum stamen of the celebrated Green-
holme Mills associated with such pattern owners as William Fison, J.P.,
the late respected "Father of the Village" and the Rt. Hon. William
Edward Forster, the educationist, of whom more anon. The old
cotton mill performed a truly charitable work, being almost entirely
run, overlookers excepted, by children who were sent down from the
workhouses in London, and who were apprenticed to the trade.
When they had served their time many of them settled in the place,
and their families afterwards became their own householders and
were otherwise comfortably off. The old mill has since been entirely
rebuilt, and now presents in its greatly enlarged aspects a model of
symmetry and cleanness, while the firm has always been careful to
avoid any interference with the natural beauties of the place or to
suffer any pollution of the famous fishing river by its side. For some
years now every particle of the mill-sewage has been conveyed to
the district sewage works between Burley and Menston.
Apart from recent residental development there are many older
houses and cottages in the town that present a well-to-do comfortable
appearance, thoroughly characteristic of the place. The village
140
has indeed taken the lead in many enlightened movements, largely
through the encouragement of the cultured and liberal-minded
owners of the mills. Burley claims the distinction of being the first
place in the Wharfe valley where a flower-show was held. It had
also the first Lecture Hall, and was also the first place in this part of
the country where athletic sports were held. It had likewise the
first Volunteer Corps in the district, and the late Rt. Hon. W. E.
Forster was at one time captain of it.
Influenced in the past by such able and enterprising chiefs as
the Whitakers, Greenwoods, Fisons, Forsters, and Claphams, no
wonder that Burley acquired a fame and reputation far outside the
pale of the West Riding. As the home too, of Thomas Maude, the
poet and early topographer of VVharfedale, and of William Watson,
the present-day poet, whose work has won for him a high national
recognition, Burley has a more than ordinarily distinguished literary
fame.
But to go back to remote centuries we find that Burley is
mentioned in the great national survey of William the Norman in
A.D. 1086. It is there written Burghelai and in the "Recapitulation,"
BurgeM, which as elsewhere explained, is named from some Anglo-
Saxon or earlier fortified enclosure, the site of which cannot now be
identified. It may possibly have been a Roman out-post situated
near the road from Adel to Ilkley, and not unlikely at Stead, hereafter
mentioned. Bury and borough have the same import, indicative of a
fortified hill or raised fort, yet in the north of England there appears
to be a distinction between the two. Bury in place names appears
distinctively Saxon and borough Roman, as Aldborough, Richborough,
Overborough, Addleborough, Littleborough, and apparently Knares-
borough ; while the Saxon form of bury appears in Dewsbury,
Horbury, Almondbury, &c.* These burghs also appear to have been
often if not always associated with important ownerships and to have
been the ancient seats and strongholds of royal or distinguished
persons.
At the Norman Conquest, Burley was taken into the Archbishop's
manor of Otley, and in 1279, by inquisition held at York, the manor
of Burley was stated to be held by Sir Ralph Maunsel and his heirs,
of the Archbishop of York for the time being, by doing the service of
half a Knight's Fee, and suit of the Archbishop's Court at Otley ftom
three weeks to three weeks. The manor was stated to be then worth
in all issues £26. This was an era of great prosperity. Next, we
find that in 1312 Hugh, son and heir of Richard de Babington, held
the manor of Burghley by knight service of the Archbishop of
York, which answered for the fourth part of a Knight's Fee. In 1326
Joh. de Calverley did his homage to the Archbishop for the manor
*' See Whitaker's Loidis and El-mete, p. 374.
lands and tenements which he held of him in Burley and Menston
in Wharfedale for half a Knight's Fee, relief, ward, scutage, (a
pecuniary payment in lieu of military service), and suit of Court at
Otley.
Afterwards the manor of Burley came to the Middletons and
from them was purchased by John Pulleyn, who died in 1644. The
Pulleyns long resided at the old Hall. They had already resided in
this part of Yorkshire for several centuries, and their name occurs in
Fewston parish as early as the Poll Tax of 1379. There are at least
three distinct branches of the family, doubtless all of one stock,
namely of Fewston, Killinghall, or Ripley, and Scotton, and from the
last mentioned descends the Pulleyns of Burley. The celebrated Dr.
Samuel Pulleyn, first Master of the Leeds Grammar School, and
afterwards Archbishop of Tuam, was the son of the Rev. William
Pulleyn, rector of Ripley (1583-1632) by his wife Joan, daughter of
(ieorge Sheffield, of Bothams in the parish of Fewston. Archbishop
Pulleyn married a daughter of the Rev. Alex. Cooke, vicar of Leeds,
whose sister was the wife of Archbishop Bramhall, of Armagh, who,
by the way, was born at Pontefract in 1593. A cousin of Archbishop
Bramhall, I may add, was the Rev. George Walker, a native of
Bingley. Co. York, and senior rector of Donoughmore, Co. Tyrone,
who was father of the celebrated hero-priest, the Rev. George
Walker, D.D., govenor of Derry in the famous siege of 1689, "against
the enemies of William and the Faith," whose great monument, a
fluted column eighty-one feet high, surmounted by a statue of Walker,
stands in the centre of the Royal Bastion in the city of Derry.*
The above John Pulleyn, of Burley, was son of John Pulleyn of
Scotton, by Mary his wife, daughter of Henry Tempest. Thomas
Pulleyn, grandson of John, who died in 1644, married Anne, only
daughter and heiress of John Fairfax of Menston, and their son
Thomas, who died in 1759, aged 58, was for many years Clerk of
the Peace for the West Riding.f By his first wife, Frances Hammond,
he left a daughter, Frances, who married the Rev. Thomas Mosley,
M.A., rector of Stonegrave, in Ryedale, whose son Thos. Pulleyn
Mosley, Esq., succeeded to the Burley estates. He led a very
extravagant life and died at Hartlepool in 1813, leaving three
daughters, all of whom married.:}: He was interred in Otley church
* See the author's Nidderdale, p. 216.
Surtees Soc., vol. 65.
| The late $jir Thos. Phillips, Bart., <>t Middle Hill, Worcestershire, purchased
troni the family part of his unrivalled collection of Fairfax MSS. which were sold at
Sotheby's in June, 1898. The collection included twelve original letters of Cromwell,
numerous letters of General Lambert, Sir Thos. Fairfax, Col. Fairfax, John Morris
(Governor of Pontefract), Francis Hacker (the regicide), Col. Mauleverer, the famous
Col. Paulden, etc., and also the original draft of the conditions of the surrender of
Pontefract in 1649. .S',v note to vicars of Otley.
142
in a leaden coffin, which is reported to have been afterwards
surreptitiously taken away and the body was shockingly mutilated.
The marauders were however, traced and sent to York Castle.
The manor of Burley was sold to Mathew Wilson, Esq., J.P.,
of the Manor House, Otley, who died in 1826. He sold it to his
kinsman the Rev. Thomas Fourness Wilson, of Burley Hall, who
died Oct. lyth, 1837, and was uncle to the late Sir Mathew Wilson,
Bart., M.P., of Eshton Hall, Gargrave. Mr. Wilson was for some
years incumbent of Silsden, and during his ministry the church at
Silsden was rebuilt and the tower added in 1816. He resided at
Burley Hall at this time and used to go on horseback to Silsden
every Sunday morning, a distance of ten miles, returning in the
evening. During the latter period of his life he resided at York.
BURLEY HALL TWO CENTURIES AGO.
A lease of Burley Hall, which I have seen, is witnessed by two
servants living in Monkgate in that city. In 1841 the manor was
next purchased by Thomas Horsfall, Esq., who died in 1861, and it
is now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Crofton, who resides at the hall.
Formerly there were a great many small owners in the neighbourhood,
who lived in their own tenements, with a bit of land attached. These
have now almost wholly disappeared, the plots having become
absorbed in the larger ownerships.
The monks of Kirkstall and the nuns of Esholt had certain
lands and messuages in Burley*, and to Bolton Priory belonged at
* Burton's Man. Ebor. pp. 139 and 192, and Thoresby Sor. Pub. vol. i. pp. 4, 5, 8,
19, etc.
143
an early period the whole estate of Scaleberch or Scaleberg, as it is
differently spelled, doubtless from the original huts or dwellings about
the burgh above alluded to.* There is a Scaleber not far from the
Roman camp above Settle.
The church at Burley was anciently a chapel-of-ease to Otley,
hut of the precise date <>f its foundation there are no records. With
strict regard to ancient manorial custom, the original church, hall,
and mill, lay close beside each other on the south bank of the river.
Before the Reformation our forefathers used their churches seven
days in the week, and as candles and torches were then used for
illumination, these required continually replenishing, and bequests
by will were frequently made for this purpose. In 1526 one Robert
Wray, of Burley, left by will one torch to the chapel here, and it
would also appear at this time that it had a bell-turret but that the
old bell was out of tune or sorely wanted repairing, and accordingly
he bequeaths 2od. for "amending the bell." The predecessor of the
present edifice was a plain structure of stone, with bell-turret at the
west end, and similar in appearance to the existing old chapel at
Bramhope, erected a few years later as appears by deeds kept in the
vestry. The chapel, which had not the right of sepulture, was
re-erected by virtue of a grant to Lord Fairfax from John Browne, of
Burley, in 1632, and in the Parliamentary Survey (vol. 18, p. 334)
the value of the cure is stated to be ^22 per annum. In 1793 it
was further endowed with ,£200 by lot, and again in 1813 with
^1,200 by lot from the Parliamentary Grant. Also in 1828 with
£200, granted to meet a benefaction from Miss Currer of lands
worth ^400. -J- The minister's house in 1818 was returned as not
fit for residence. Like the old parsonage at Leathley it had three
rooms on the ground-floor, a parlour, kitchen, and another room
unflagged, but there were two upper chambers whose roofs were open
to the slates.
The tithe of Burley was returned in 1838 as worth about £120.
I have seen a number of deeds £c., relating to the chapel, kept in
the vestry of Otley Church, and amongst them is Valuation of
Seats in the chapel, and an indenture dated i5th September, 1645,
whereby Wm. Vavasour bequeaths Bowker's farm of the value of £4
per annum (never to be raised) to Wm. Maud and Stephen Hartley
and their heirs, as likewise to the churchwardens and overseers
within Burley for the time being for the maintenance of a minister
within that chapel, the inhabitants to add £16 thereto. There is
also an order of Wm. Settle, dated 1835, he being the only trustee
under the deed of appointment of an incumbent to the said chapel.
* For an explanation of the term scale, skal, schal, and sliawl, see the author's
Richtnondshire, p. 363.
I So- Archbishop Sharp's .I/.T.S'., v<> i. p. 111.
1 44
The original endowment consisted of the garth or ground on which
the chapel stood, conveyed for the better improvement of the minister's
salary and maintenance. On the garth, adjoining the chapel, and
occupying about half of the whole area, was erected a glebe-house, a
cottage and a barn. When che old chapel was taken down to make
room for the new church, these buildings were valued at ,£64, which
amount was added to the fund for building the parsonage. The
whole ground, with a small addition, was then consecrated to be the
churchyard. The fees were assigned to Otley, reserving half-fees to
the chaplain of Burley for services performed, and no acknowledg-
ment or remuneration it seems has ever been made to the living in
consideration of the land thus permanently alienated from it.
The chapel was taken down in 1841, and the foundation-stone
of the existing large and handsome edifice was laid on October igth
of that year by Jonas Whitaker Esq., of Greenholme, to whom and
his wife there is a beautiful memorial window in Otley Church.
Among the donations received towards the erection was one of £20
from Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, and ^25 from His Grace the
Archbishop of York. The new building was consecrated, June iQth,
1843, by Dr. Longley, Bishop of the Diocese and afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1869 a faculty was obtained for the
enlargement of the chancel, the enfranchisement of all seats, and the
embellishment of the church. The walls and roof of the interior are
beautifully decorated in a rich warm tone, and on the walls appear
life-size figures of the apostles and evangelists. The windows, like
the rest of the fabric, are Early Pointed in style, being glared with
ground glass, and some of them are stained. They are memorials to
Wm. Vavasour, of Stead (pb. 1642), to Wm. Maude, of Burley, (pb.
1661) and Wm. Jenkinson, bom at Burley, who was an alderman of
Boston (pb. 1642) ; these were benefactors to the old chapel. Also to
the later families of Gill and Emsley, and one, beautifully conceived,
to a son of E. P. Arnold-Forster Esq., who died January 2ist, 1887,
aged 9 years. There are also neat brasses placed to the memory
of Thomas Wade, lay-clerk of Burley from 1834 to 1871, and
Thomas Clark, who died in 1898, and who for forty-one years was
master of the Greenholme Mills School. Mr. Wade, whose portrait
hangs in the vestry, was a benefactor to several local charities, and
was one of the founders of the Parish Church Sunday School. The
east window is also a beautiful composition of three lights, representing
scenes in the life of Our Saviour. It is a memorial to Thomas
Horsfall Esq., lord of the manor of Burley, who died in 1861, and
who was a most liberal supporter of the church and contributed ^400
towards the erection of the parsonage. There is also a handsome
window dedicated to the memory of the Rev. Chas. Ingham Black, D.D.,
the respected pastor of the church for 41 years, who died in 1896,
aged 74. The Rev. R. P. Stedman, the present vicar,, succeeded him.
Dr. Black's memory will Ion- be treasured in the parish in
which he M> long and assiduously laboured. He was born September
»ISt, iS^i, at Klsinore, CO. Sligo, ami was tin- second son of Mr.
John Black, of Sligo, who was an intimate friend of Lord Palmerston.
In 1856 the rhapelrv of Hurley was, largely through his efforts,
erected into a separate parish with Menston. and he became its first
incumbent. The new church of St. John, at Menston. was built and
THE REV. DR. BLACK.
opened in 1858. Many improvements were effected from time to
time in the church and the parish, and the value of the living was
greatly augmented. With the exception of two years (1867-8), when
he did temporary duty as English chaplain at Darmstadt, where, it
may be added, he was brought into very kindly and intimate relations
with the late Princess Alice, he was rarely absent from Burley, even
for a single Sunday. His sermons were always delivered extempore ;
and, says one who knew him well, " his choice of language was
i46
remarkable, and it was noticeable that he would pause for any length
of time rather than use any but the most exactly appropriate word.
Those who heard his In Metnoriam address, delivered from the
chancel-steps on the Sunday morning following the death of his old
friend and parishioner, the Rt. Hon. W. E. Foster, can never forget
its rare discrimination and felicity, nor yet the tenderness of manner
with which it was spoken." Dr. Black was appointed Rural Dean of
Otley in 1891. He was a student all his life, an excellent theologian
and classical scholar, and a writer of prose and verse. His Christmas
carols evince a devotional feeling and melody far above the average,
while his rendering into Latin verse of the well-known Rock of Ages
stands before Mr. Gladstone's in Hymns Ancient and Modern. He
was author of several volumes, amongst which may be mentioned
Messias and Anti- Messias and The Proslytes of Ishmael. In 1888 he
published a short historical Memorial of the Chapelry of Burley, which
shews how active and versatile was his pen. To the last-mentioned
little work I am indebted for some of the facts communicated in this
chapter.
Resuming my account of the church, the vestry is panelled with
black oak from the Fairfax pew in the old chapel, and bears the
initials and date, G. F., 1654.* In the vestry are many things of
interest, including the old oak deed-chests of the chapelry; a
painting of the old chapel by Miss Black, daughter of the late
pastor ; a handsome oak chair, designed and carved by Miss Black ;
a plan of the church and churchyard (the latter consecrated in
1843), a collection of books and portraits; and a Milner's fire-proof
safe, the gift of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster in 1862. The clock was
put up at a cost of ^120, and set going by Mrs. Thos. Horsfall on
December 22nd, 1855.!
In the entrance to the church is a large oval tablet erected by
Thomas Maude, the poet, in 1781, to the memory of his ancestors, of
whom is mentioned William Maude, gent., born A.D. 1588 "in his
paternal mansion at Burley, where he died in 1661. His pedigree,
which I owe to the courtesy of a member of the family, is subjoined.
Burley House (now occupied by Thomas M. Horsfall, Esq.), long
the home of that worthy lady Mrs. L. Anderton, and Burley Lodge
(Misses Outhwaite) were built by Thomas Maude, the poet, who died
in 1798, aged 80. He was the author of Verbeia, or IVharfedale, a
work of superior merit, as well as of an equally admirable
composition in verse, with valuable notes, entitled IVensleydale, or
Rural Contemplations ; the latter was published for the benefit of the
* Mrs. Francis Fairfax, of Burley, was buried icth June, 1696, and Sir Walter
Calveley records that he went to the funeral and had a pair of gloves presented to him.
Surtees Soc. Pub., vol. 77, p. 69.
f Mr. Fison, of Greenholme, has a clever model of the church executed by a self-
taught local artist named Albert Walker.
[H. Speight's I'fiprr
to tare page i
Richard Mawde Johanna, dan. and co-heir
Hurley Manor ; of Walter Graver, of
Rolls, 15^6-1543 ; Mensington,
I.aiul in Bui lev m. before 1=511.
and Mensington : Dods. MSS. 3 io. 145.
Burlev Manor Rolls,
1544-1547
Bryan Mawde, of Steyde, in Hurley,
Manor Rolls, 1541-1555
William Mawde (junior),
Burlev Manor Rolls,
'545- '555
Edmund
bap. Otl<
28 June, i
bur. Otl<
23 April, i
William M.
b. 15 May,
1640
Maude, dau. of Francis Pulle
m. Otley, 6 Aug., i
Edmund M., b. i68i=Priscilla, d. of M Gleadhill
d. 3 April, 1744 j m. Otley, 30 Sept., 1708
John Edmund Thomas Maude, b. 8 May,- Cordelia, d. ot M.Webley William M., of=Mary, d. of
1718, burd. Wenslev 3 Sept.
1798. Author of I Y/vV/tf and
other poems. Rebuilt
Hurley House
b. 1730, m. St. Bennetts,
London, 5 Aug., 1746,
d. 9 Nov., 1802
Downing Street,
Westminster,
b. 1733
M.Webley,
at
Harewood
Thomas AI., b. in Downing- Street, 1761= Margaret Eleanor, d. of Wm. Jemmett, two
Colonel 2nd W.Y. Militia ol . \shford, Kent, d. 19 Jan , 1839, at daughters
d. 4th April, 1809 I.angham, Essex, m. 12 May, 1801
iam Jemmett M.
>. 7 May, 1802
Thomas M., b. 14 Nov., 1803- Sibylla Jane, d. of Wm. Green, of Stan way four other
Clerk in Holy Orders | Hall, Essex, m. 13 Sept., 1831 children
Thotna- Emily, Cordelia^ Eredk. Barlow Edmund = Margaretta d. of R. Arthur M.
I William
M.
living in
N.Z.
(Sibylla
Emilv
d. ot J.
Brown,
C'h.Ch.
N.Z
d. Jan. 15, 1806
I lussey
M.
Barter, ot St. Anne's
Hill, Cork
j sons
3 daughters
Mary Cordelia Dorothy Agnes
Rector of
Burgh,
Wood-
bridge
Thomas — dau. of
in N.Z. Rev.
(1899) Day
Charles
Edmund
Cordelia
Mary
Eleano
Arthur Andomar Dorothy
Henry Ed wan!
1
Charles = Florence .<
Ere wen d. o Rev. '
M. A. Orr,
d, Jan.
8, 188^ Eli
Al
Pedigree of Maude, of Burlcp in Wbarfedale.
William Mawde (senior)- -Margaret, d. of
Hurley Manor Rolls,
1550-1555, land in Burley
and Mensing-ton
a freeholder of Burley.
She is mentioned in the
will of her son Thomas
Thomas M., land in Burley = Elizabeth Christopher M.
and Mensington, will of Burley
5 May, 1568
four daughters
Kdmund M., ot Burley, —Agnes, d.
an infant at father'?
death, m. at Otley 1587
d. June, 1624,
inq. p.m. Miscel. Ch.
22 Jas. i. p. n. No.^82
and co-heir
of Stephen
Hudson,
of Stead
William M. = Maria, d. of Henry Watkinson,
b. at Burley, 1588
d. 30 June, 1661
burd. Otley,
2 July, 1661
will 9 March, 1661
of Ilkley. She was a legatee
under will of Thomas Mawde,
of Holling Hall, Ilkley,
dated 3 Feb., 1602
m. at Ilkley, 10 Oct., 1609
d. 2 Oct., 1654
tf.=Martha, d. of Abraham
Bynns, J.P., of
Rishworth Hall;
m. Bingley, 5 Feb., 1638
John M., bap. 7 Sept., 1620, d. 7 March, 1657— Sarah, m-
Officer in Cromwell's Army, Marston Moor.
Legatee under will of his godfather, Wm.
Vavasour, 3 Sept., 1642
19 May,
1644
Elizabeth -
d. of John
Ampleford
of Boston
Ma
b. \
162-
Ot
De<
11, of Burley— John M. — Mrs. Margaret Rhodes, of Menston, four other
72 buried Otley,
25 July, 16X7
m. Otley, n Dec., 1678,
d. 1687
children
William M.=Mary, dau.
of Otley | of
of James Wiggins,
Tadcaster
1
two
daughters
William M., of Otley— Grace, dau. of Edward four other
b. 30 July, 1715,
buried Otley
Heelis, of Skibden,
m. 30 Dec., 1744
children
Edmund M., of Leeds=Mary, dau. of John Milthorpe seven other
b. 8 Feb., 1749 of Pool, Yorks., children
d. 12 June, 1829 m. 25 April, 1776, d. 1786
William Milthorpe M., of Knowsthorpe House, Leeds, J.P., I). L. — Sarah Maria, dau. of Jo
b. 26th June, 1777, d. 29 March, 1863
Both buried
b. 1 6 May, 1782, m.
at Roundhay
ucia Elizabeth Maude M. Eliza, Maria, dau. of -Edward James M. — Georgiana
. an b. 15 Nov. 1810, d. at John Collis, d. July,
ifant Knowsthorpe House, 1843, m. Nov., 18-58
3 Dec., 1886
of the Old Hall,
Knowsthorpc,
b. 15 Jul}', 1814,
d. 16 Sept., 1805
Catherine
dau. of F.
Natusch,
Esq.
Arthur M., of ROM- >
Hill, Rotherham,
J.P., b. is July,
1815,
d. 10 June, 1860
zabeth Collis M.
,'mer William M. Ella Sophia, Frederick Natusch M. = Mary Emily, Kate M. Ethel, wife of
aoth d. infants wife of Colonel Lt. -Colonel R.E., dau. of F. H. E. F. H.
Karl Limberger, b. 12 Nov. 1854 Boott, Esq., Parkinson, Esq.
German Army, m. it Aug-., of Ilkley,
d. 27 Dec., 1879 1875 d. May 24, 1891
William Cas
of Lincoln'
Barrister-al
and Brackei
Bournerm
b. 1 1 Dec.
Aylmer Ar
Joseph Prob
b 27 March
IKMS An;, a Hint rampant,
r all ttin-c bars, ffemels,
M. Jane, dau. of nine other
m., Samuel children
I'd. Hawkesworth
24 ot
t>8<) Hawkesworth
A I/HO John Maude, of Fill ford Grange, York, father of Sarah Maria, wife of
William Milthorpe Maude, of Knowsthorpe.
Of this branch of the family also were
(1) John Gcrvaise Maude, who married Harriet, d. of George Hartwell, of
I.aleham, from whom were descended Mariann,-. Lucia, wife of General
Win. Pattle, i yth Lancers, and Frederick Philip Maude, of the Inner
Temple, Harrister-at-Law, joint author of Maude and Pollock's Law of
Merchant Sliippiiiff.
(2) Rear-Admiral William Maude, d 18 May, 184;,.
(3) Post-Captain John Maude, whose son William Henry, called alter his
godfather, the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., d. 4 Sept.,
1800.
(4) Captain William George Maude, R.N., of Holgate, York.
Maude, Fulford Grange, York
Jnne, 1806, d. 7 Aii}^., 1848
.ha Matilda, ilau. ot Frederick
issell, l-".--(|., of (irang'e Frin,
Hildas, C'ork, b. 3 July, 1822,
t Snaith, Yorks. , 25 J;m., 18^
Q()ct., 1899, at Brackenwood,
Bournemouth
M., Sophia Dora, ^
n,
dan. of Major J.
W. (',. Spicer,
of Spye Park,
Chippenham,
m. 16 April, 1890
James M., Margaret, dau. of
b. i s Nov.,
Rev. 1 1. Nicholson
ck
"784.
d. _'T Nov.,
1852
Rector of Adel
m. 12 Aug., 1812,
d. 25 April, 1818
Edmund M.,
Pho?be, dau. of threeother
2, of Middleton
Francis children
, Lodge,
Beeston,
Hulmer, Esq.,
of York,
b. is Nov. i8K>
d. 10 Oct. 1848
m. Sept.,
1843
six other
children
William
James F.dnumd M. Annie Louisa,
dau. of Rev.
H. Gosse
Fanny
Elizabeth Henry M., of Moor Allerton,
50 m. io April, 1890 of Middle ton b. 1847
Lodge,
Hertha Etheldreda Mary Beeston, J. P., Klsie Bertha
d. b. 29 Oct., 1894 b. 14 Feb., b. Nov., 1886
92 1846
Charles =Geraldine,
Bulmer M.
Arch-
deacon of
Salop, b.
29 April,
1848
dau. of
Alexander
Donovan,
Esq.,
m. Dec.,
1876
147
Leeds Infirmary. He was for some time in the service of Lord
Bolton, and resided at Bolton Hall in \\Vnslcydale, but the latter
part of his life was passed at Hurley House, where it is said he died.
I am privileged to present his portrait, admirably reproduced from a
scarce miniature in colours. In the original the coat is blue and the
waistcoat white with blue spots. I am sensible of the value of this
portrait of an old Yorkshire worthy, as it is, I believe, reproduced
from the only original known. Likewise in the larger edition is a full-
page reproduction of a scarce old engraving of the house in 1770.*
THOMAS MAUDE, THE POET.
There are a number of substantial and beautiful residences in and
about Burley, including Greenholme, the old home of the Whitakers,
and for many years up to the time of his death of the before mentioned
* According to a MS. in the Hailstone Collection, Burley House was built in 1783
" upon the foundation of an old and respectable mansion which had stood 150 years."
This would bring the date of erection of this homestead to 1633, whereas the
drawing which was taken in 1770, or before the present house was built, shews it to
have been in a style prevailing nearer the time of 1733 than 1633. The rooms of the
later house, it is interesting to note, at this time were all papered and hung throughout
with hells. In 1788 it was advertised to be let for a term of year^.
148
Wm. Fison, Esq., J.P., whose only son Fred. W. Fison, Esq., is
at present the energetic M.P. for the Doncaster Division. The
old house stands charmingly amidst sylvan surroundings down by
the river, whose soothing murmurs are heard through the open"
windows, mingling with the constant cawing of rooks, while the
songs of birds and the notes of the cuckoo in Spring time are familiar
and pleasant sounds. Hereabouts in the early part of the century
were reared those magnificent short-horn cattle (see page 82) which
were accounted the best breed of the kind in the north of England.
Hard by in an equally delightful parterre, stands Wharfeside, late the
J.M, Residence of that sturdy and able politician the Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster,
^vho died in 1886, and whose widow, Mrs. Forster, only daughter. of
Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, of blessed memory, occupied the mansion up
>JL/ to her death on October 2ist 1899. A little further away is Walton
1 House, the seat of Captain Benson. Burley Grange (Mrs. Hodson),
is in the town, and is a handsome mansion built about fifty years ago
by J. Peele Clapham Esq., who had previously lived at Burley Hall.
Burley Lawn is the residence of Mrs. Mumford. Cathedine, near the
station, is a handsome modern residence, the seat of E, P. Arnold-
Forster Esq., J.P., a son by adoption of the late Rt. Hon. W.E. Forster.
He has recently succeeded to the chairmanship of the Otley Bench
of Magistrates, vacant by the death of Mr. Ayscough Fawkes.
There are also some notable old houses in and about the Main
Street. The jojdest bearing a date stands opposite the Wesleyan
Chapel, and is inscribed over the door M.S., 1613, A.S., and on the
east side is a flat-headed doorway inscribed A.D. 1647. In this house
was an old oak-panelled room, and there was a fine carved chimney-
piece, which a year or two ago was removed to Greenholme. Further
down the street is a picturesque Stuart house with characteristic
splayed mullioned windows and continued string-course, now occupied
by Dr. Hebblethwaite, in front of which is a sundjal inscribed _I.M_.
^1685. Formerly there were some ancient thatched houses, single-
deckers, built of cobbles from the river, which were removed a few years
ago for street improvements. They were chiefly located at the top of
Peel Street and in Back Lane, at the north end of Moor View. One
of these, shewn on the accompanying engraving, stood on the site of
Pickles' newsagent's shop. There are some good large inns in the
Main Street, lately rebuilt or improved, including the Malt_£hgU£l ,
(near the church) and Queen's Head, and Red Lion higher up, on the
road to Ilkley. It was under a large tre"e opposite the Malt Shovel
that the now obsolete custom of serving the Burley Great Pudding
took place. It was made every seven years and usually consisted of
about thirty stones of flour and a similar quantity of other ingredients.
A similar custom prevailed at Paignton in Devonshire, where a
monster plum-pudding has been made at irregular intervals since
1817, after the treaty of peace was signed in the year following
149
the great bread riots. The largest, made in 1859, weighed little
short of a ton.
Burley Hall, already mentioned, is the old manor house and
former residence of the Pulleyns. Thomas Pulleyn, as stated, died
at Hurley in 1759, (see page 66), and his widow Mrs. Mary Pulleyn
died at the Hall in 1786, aged 82. She was great-granddaughter to
Dr. Sterne, Archbishop of York, (ob. 1683) her father being Richard
Sterne Esq., of Woodhouse in the parish of Halifax. Mrs. Pulleyn
was also sister to the wife of Jeremiah Rawson Esq., lord of the manor
of Bradford. The hall was almost wholly consumed by fire, through
the carelessness of servants, in December, 1822, and was rebuilt by
OLD THATCHED HOUSES, BURLEY.
the Rev. T. F. Wilson, lord of the manor, who died in 1837. The
view on page 142 of the previous Hall is produced from VVarburton's
pencil sketch made in 1718 and now in the British Museum. In the
distance are the picturesque heights of the Chevin, with a well-wooded
foreground. The gardens contain some choice shrubs and trees,
including a tulip-tree about fifty feet high. In the hall window is a
coat of arms, dated 1725.
The house in 1834, was next leased and occupied by John Peel
Clapham Esq., J.P., a member of the ancient family of Clapham, and
a. branch of the Claphams of Beamsley, whose lineage is set forth in
Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire, A.D. 1584-5. Mr. Clapham, who was
born in 1801, was a lineal descendant of Francis Clapham, who
married in 1670, Ann, daughter of Byran Longfellow, of East
Morton.* He was treasurer of seventeen County Courts in Yorkshire,
and was a member of the Congregational body, and largely through
his influence the church, school, and manse at Burley were erected,
he giving the site, including the burial-ground. He also laid the
JOHN P. CLAPHAM, ESQ., J.P.
foundation-stone of the church in October, 1839. He was a gentleman
of considerable literary attainments, being editor of the well-known
Leeds Sunday School Hymn Book, and author of various hymns and
poems, f From Burley Hall he removed to Burley Grange (which, as
stated, he built), and afterwards to- Leeds, but returning to Wharfedale
his last days were spent at his residence, Brookside, Ilkley, where he
See the author's Old Bingley, p. 331. f See Andrews' Modern Yorkshire Poets.
died in the ;5th year of his age. The following simple but effective
lines from his pen seem to breathe of an affectionate attachment to
the rural quietude of Wharfedale.
MY HOMK.
A MIDNIGHT THOUGH 1.
Tell me, little twinkling star,
Riding thy resplendent car,
Do thy pale beams reach as far
As my Home?
Are thy rays with others blending,
Not to Scotia only tending
But in England, now descending
On my Home?
Yes ! and I behold in thee
A golden link connecting me
With a spot I long to see
For 'tis Home!
And thou nightly-playing breeze
Soft and louder by degrees,
Hast thou ever swept the trees
Near my Home?
Rustling through the poplars tall,
Whistling on the pear-tree wall,
As the loose leaves gently fall
Round my Home.
If thou hast, then welcome here.
Shake my casement, never fear,
For with keen delight I hear
Aught from Home!
One of Mr. Clapham's daughters is the wife of Frederick Wedmore
Esq., the distinguished author and art critic, whose recent volume,
the joint production of himself and daughter, Miss Milicent Wedmore,
entitled Pi/ems of the Live and Pnde of England, is indeed a book to
be prized. His second son, Mr. John Arthur Clapham, who was born
at Barley Hall in 1835 was for many years corresponding secretary
of the Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society, and who at the
present time occupies the position of president of that Society. The
Hall was afterwards occupied by Thomas Horsfall, Esq., lord of the
manor of Burley, and brother of the late Timothy Horsfall Esq., of
Hawksworth Hall, who was born at Goit Stock, near Bingley,* and
at the time of his death was senior magistrate on the Otley Bench.
Mr. Thomas Horsfall died and was buried at Burley Church in 1861,
and his daughter, Mrs. Crofton, a widow lady, now resides at the
hall with her married daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Yorke.
One noteworthy object in the Main Street is the very handsome
Celtic cross, erected at a cost of about .£250, by subscriptions
limited in amount and restricted to past and present residents of
.S'iv the author'-; Old Ii inkier, p. 384, etc.
'52
Burley, as a memorial to the late Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster, M.P. The
monument stands fittingly in front of the Lecture Hall that the firm
of which Mr. Forster was a partner, erected some years ago for the
use of the people of Burley. It is a splendid and imposing piece of
sculpture fifteen feet in height, and is a facsimile of the ancient and
celebrated Columba's Cross on the island of lona. It stands upon a
platform of three spreading steps, and upon its base is the following
brief inscription: —
To the honoured memory of
\V. E. FORSTER,
Horn 1818. Died 1886.
This cross is raised by his fellow villagers.
The cross was unveiled in June, 1892, in the presence of a large
gathering by the Rt. Hon. A. J. Mundella, M.P., one of Mr. Forster's
most intimate co-workers in the cause of education.
The Greenholme worsted mills with which Mr. Forster's name is
associated, I have already mentioned as models of cleanliness and
good order. They stand some little distance outside the town and
are separated from it by acres of the greenest of pastures. Tall
trees raise their stately proportions above the steep banks of the
Wharfe and partly overshadow the airiest and cleanest of mill-yards,
while the cawing of rooks and the ceaseless flow of the river below,
combined with the general aspects of quietude and rusticity, make it
hard to believe that as you stand here on a working-day within these
massive white stone walls some 700 to 800 workpeople are busily
employed. The mill, as I have said, was originally a cotton factory
and sixty years ago was run by Messrs. Greenwood and Whitaker.
Mr. Jones Whitaker, who died in 1850, and was a noted short-horn
breeder, (see page Si) retired from the business about 1849, an(^
it was then that the property came into the market. Mr. Wm. Fison,
who had married a daughter of Mr. Whitaker, then purchased the
property in conjunction with Mr. W. E. Forster, who had up to that
time been in partnership in the wool business in Bradford with Mr.
Wm. Fison's elder brother ; the Fison's, I may add, being originally
tenant farmers in Suffolk. How they obtained the Burley property
and how the late Sir Titus Salt missed it and came to build Saltaire,
is quite a romantic episode in commercial history, and is best related
in Mr. Fison's own words, which I take the liberty of quoting from
the Yorkshire Post of some years back: —
We applied to the solicitor to the estate, and received a letter stating that the
property was on offer to the late Sir Titus Salt, who had not then founded his great
works at Saltaire and received his title. The solicitor said that he could not negotiate
until after one o'clock in the day, and that if the estate were not then sold he would be
prepared to negotiate. We went at one o'clock, Forster and I, and the estate was not
sold. We accordingly made an offer. It was not accepted, but ultimately we came to
terms, signed the agreement for the purchase, and were just leaving the solicitor's
office when who should we meet but Mr. Titus Salt coming up the stairs prepared to
increase his offer and buy the property. Vexed enough he was, too, at his being too
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laic. Had lie kept the appointment before one o'clock Saltairc works would have been
here instead of where they are. That is how we bought Greenholme. Some may say
it would have been better lor Hurley had Mr. Salt and not ourselves been the purchaser-,
lie that as it may. I think every one will agree that the beauties of the Wharfe and
the purity of its stream have not suffered at our hands.
The old mill premises were then pulled down and the present
ctunmodious buildings erected in their place in 1850. The business
prospered, and while it did so neither Mr. Fison nor Mr. Forster
neglected any opportunity of promoting their workpeoples welfare.
They founded the old mill-school, the first of its kind in England,
and for upwards of forty years the Greenholme firm, latterly in
conjunction with the late Mrs. Forster and Mr. Fison, bore the whole
cost of its maintenance. The firm was, it is believed, the first to
start a dining-room for the hands, and they were also the first to give
workpeople a holiday outing. This was in September, 1849, and the
idea at that time being a novel one, and greatly appreciated by
those who took part in it, an address conveying their thanks was
spontaneously got up by the workpeople and presented to the firm.
This interesting souvenir now hangs in the library at Greenholme,
and is worth quoting now that the importance of reasonable
recreation has come to be so fully recognised. The address reads :
To MESSRS. WM. FISON & Co.
Gentlemen, — We, the undersigned in your employ, desire to express our sincere
and heartfelt thanks for the very great kindness shown by you to us in our Saturday's
excursion. We beg to assure you that but one feeling pervades every bosom, and that
is satisfaction. The comfort of the arrangements, the diversity of the entertainments,
and the liberality and condescension of our hosts, shall ever be remembered by us with
lively feeling's of gratitude and thankfulness.
We hope that this party, combined with other arrangements which you are so
nobly and generously making for our comfort, may all tend to stir us up to renewed
diligence, and conduce to the general welfare of all.
We are, gentlemen, with every feeling of respect and thanks,
Yot'R GRATEFUL WORKPEOPLE.
Bradford, September 3rd, 1849.
Such are among the beneficial actions of the modern founders
of Burley in the town of their adoption, whilst the latest gracious
act — the gift by Mr. Wm. Fison, J.P., of a recreation ground for the
free use and enjoyment of the people of Burley for ever — not only
commemorates, as the generous donor intended it, the 6oth year of
Her Majesty's glorious reign, but also the half-century of prosperity
that has been attained since Mr. Fison first settled at Burley. The
ground, which occupies a pleasant level site between the town and
the Wharfe, and will henceforth be known as " Fison Park," was
formally opened on Saturday, June 23rd, 1899, when the donor's
able and indefatigable son, Mr. Frederick W. Fison, M.P., handed
over the deed of gift to the chairman of the District Council (Mr.
Edward Willis, J.P.), accompanied by a key in case, suitably
inscribed, the gift of Mr. E. P. Arnold-Forster. Mr. Fison, M.P., in
the course of an interesting address feelingly referred to his old
154
schoolmaster at Burley, the late Mr. Thomas Clark, who was master
of the Greenholme School from 1856 to 1897. On the south side of
the new park a fountain has been erected as a memorial to Mr.
Clark, which has been subscribed for by 600 inhabitants of Burley,
and handed over to the District Council, who will keep it in repair
and supply it with water.
From all this it will be apparent that the most amicable relations
subsisted, and continue to subsist, between the Greenholme
employers and their workpeople, and it is gratifying to record that
never since the firm was established has a strike or serious dispute
arisen between them. Mr. Fison himself has been a pattern
employer. Unambitious of great wealth or of living on a large
estate, he has modestly dwelt "amongst his people," and in the old
house by the mill, has passed the greater part of his useful life. He
has been identified with every philanthrophic and charitable movement
in the town and district ; indeed, " charity " and welfare of others
would seem to have been the guiding principle of his life. He has
been connected with many institutions, and as long ago as 1845 he
was associated with the old Ilkley Bath Charity, and was a member
of the first building committee of the Home in 1859, and he has
watched its interests as treasurer continuously since 1872. In
educational matters he has been none the less active.*
Mr. Forster likewise took great interest in the old mill-school
at Burley, and it was no doubt here that this most eminent and
progressive public servant which Wharfedale has given to the
country, laid his grand scheme of national education. The present
Marquis of Ripon, when Lord Goderich, was a frequent visitor at
Wharfeside, and was not less interested than Mr. Forster in the
successful work that was being carried on at the school at Burley.
Mr. Fison tells a rather good story of one of his lordship's visits to
Wharfeside. It seems his lordship was fond of a bottle of good port.
There had been a sale of wine at a Mr. Gill's in Burley, and Mr.
Forster bought a small stock of valuable 1820 port. Mr. Fison
happened to be dining with Lord Goderich and himself, and Mr.
Forster asked his attendant to bring up a bottle of Gill's port. The
butler, looking very much astonished at the request, replied, "Please
sir, you told me to send some wine to the Rifle's Corps' supper. I
thought Gill's bottles seemed very old and dirty and not much
worth, so I sent them all there!" Mr. Forster, of course, looked
much vexed, but the company laughed. Thus the prime old port
which they should have had was entirely consumed by the volunteers,
* Since the above humble tribute was written a year agx>, Mr. Fison has been called
to his rest. He died on the present writer's birthday, April 6th, 1900, aged 80, and was
interred at Otley Cemetery. His useful and busy life has ended full of years and
honour and his memory will ever be cherished with gratitude.
and some of them were as they say in Yorkshire, "fair capt" (and
well they might be) with the quality of the liquor and remember it to
this day.
Of Mr. Forster's life and work it is unnecessary to write here,
it has been ably dealt with by man) pens. I may however mention,
what I shall not soon forget, being present at the impressive
ceremony of the great statesman's burial in the quiet Wharfedale
cemetery in the spring of 1886. He died on April 5th and after a
funeral service in Westminster Abbey, was interred at Burley on the
Saturday following. Hundreds, if not thousands of respectful
mourners, very many of whom were attired in black, gathered on
that occasion about the old Wharfedale town, which Mr. Forster had
loved and cared for through the best part of his days. At the grave-
side were Mrs. Forster and many connections of the family,
prominent amongst whom was the tall and striking figure of Mr.
Matthew Arnold. The spot where the distinguished statesman lies
commands a lovely view of the valley, of whose charms and rustic
simplicity none had a greater appreciation, stern politician though he
was, than Mr. Forster himself.
It is the kind of wide and healthful scenery to foster the genius
of a great poet, if scenery of this description can be said to exercise
such an influence, as it seems to have done in Wordsworth's case.*
At any rate Burley has in the present generation produced a poet of
whom Wharfedale, and even England, may justly be proud, for in
William Watson, who was born at Burley, we have a writer who has
proved himself to be not only a deep lover of natural scenery, but a
fervent patriot, and a singer who, I might say, in his own words
Gathers fruit from every tree,
Yea, grapes from thorns and fig's from thistle- he
Pluck'd by his hand, the basest weed that grows
Towers to a lily, reddens to a rose.
Mr. Watson though he has written little, has done that little
exceedingly well. He has pre-eminently the making of a great poet
in him, and it is to be hoped that since the Civil List pension of
;£ioo a year has been conferred upon him, his sensitive mind will
not be harassed by the bare necessities of existence, and that his
true poetic bent and ripe scholarship may prove of real benefit to
English letters.
* Also in the case of J. M. W. Turner, whose views of art were, it is said, broadened
and inspirited by the grand open sweeps of Wharfedale scenery. Mr. Ruskin was also
equally charmed with the scenery, and paid several visits to Wharfedale, which
impressed him much. In 1851 he was at Farnley with his wife, and again in 1884.
Some delightful reminiscences of these two visits to Farnley from the pen of Mrs.
Aysrough Kawkes appear in the April number for 1900 of the N'meteenth Century.
CHAPTER X.
ON THE EDGE OF THE MOOR.
Burley Wood Head — The Rumbalds Moor hermit— Ancient stone circles — The old
hamlet of Stead — The Stead family — Remarkable instance of continuous residence
in one spot — Stead Hall— The Twistleton family — Picturesque aspects — Probable
site of Roman camp — Prehistoric remains — Old local families — A moorland walk —
Hawksworth Hall and the Hawksworths — Old Menston families — Menston Old
Hall — The asylum.
ET us now climb to the breezy heights of Burley Wood
Head, with the spreading moors around, and here I
shall have to allude to a character of a very different
type to those lately mentioned. Everyone surely in
the West Riding of Yorkshire, at any rate, has heard
of old Job Senior, the Rumbalds Moor hermit, whose bent, uncouth
figure, seeming half animal, half human, was such a familiar object
to a former generation of residents about Burley, Ilkley, Steeton,
Bingley, Keighley, and Otley. Old Job's " mansion " was near the
Coldstone Beck on Burley Moor, and to this spot on holidays crowds
of people used to be attracted for the purpose of getting a glimpse
of the strange being or of hearing him render his stentorian " blast."
The late Mr. Henry Whitaker, son of Mr. Jonas Whitaker, of
Greenholme, knew the old hermit well, and had several times
photographed him. I will give his description of him in his own
words :
At the top of the Moor Lane at Burley Wood Head you turn to the right and
follow on the higher Ilkley road, passing over the bridge which crosses the
Coldstone Beck. Here there is a steep ascent which winds around the upper side of a
rounded hill, and on arriving1 on the top of this path, the habitation of "Old Job Senior,
the Wharfedale hermit," could be seen. It stood on a triangular plot of ground, which
he had apparently grabbed from what belonged to the lord of the manor, for he had
built a wall at the bottom of a field and enclosed the small triangle adjoining Coldstone
Beck, the upper end (where his hut or dwelling was placed) abutting on the Ilkley road.
On this plot of ground he used to plant potatoes, and he had a primitive gate or latched
door which led into his sanctuary. At one corner he had placed some rough hewn
large stones, which had been set almost upright, and these were crossed at the top by
another rough unhewn stone which was obliquely placed and formed the top of the
opening to the entrance of his home. He had slated it with irregular and undressed
slates, and he had dug sods of benty sward and peat, and had left the heather still
growing on the latter. These were placed on the roof, which sloped at a certain angle,
so that the rain water ran from it, and he appeared to be comparatively dry as he laid
with his legs bent at the entrance to his primitive domicile. Here he used to hold high
court, but the grand levee used to take place on Sundays, when numbers of persons
from Bradford and Leeds used to assemble in front of his hut, whilst he gave them what
he termed his "Blast," which was a composition of his own, to represent sweet melody,
but rather to gratify the delusion of those who were willing to be deluded by a
'57
designing old man, who tbund that his varied loud chant brought him a large store of
copper-- as h<- lay singing on his bed of dried brackens and heather. When he made
his ablutions I never heard, but there was plenty ot pure water in Coldstone Heck close
to where he was living. lie had threat compass ot voice, and his lowest notes were most
powerful. They sounded like the muftled tones ot a maddened bull when he is
bellowing in a rage; and then he used to modulate the tones until they became a loud
-lean and ended in a shriek as he gave his hearer-, the different variations ot his own
sung, which he called " ("wedding Anthem i' twu voices."
Often when we have been going up to Ilkley Moors to shoot moor-game at break
ol day we have stopped to listen to old Job, who had then no audience but was generally
singing the looth Psalm, and it was beautifully sung, his loud voice echoing amongst the
rocks above, and sounding far down into the valley. Let us hope that this was genuine
and sincere praise by the old man, for then he had no interested persons about him and
must have been imbued with some sense of reverential feeling.
A very fair representation of Old Job is to be seen on the
sign-board of the Hermit Inn at Burley Wood Head. He died in
1857, aged 77, and his burial in the churchyard at Burley was
witnessed by crowds of interested onlookers. Such like eccentrics
are now of the past, and are not likely to be seen again.
On Burley Moor is a rude stone circle consisting of twelve
upright blocks, and on Hawksworth Moor is a circle of about twenty
stones, which is figured and described in my "Old Bingley." They
have been ancient British sepulchral enclosures, commonly called
Druids' Circles.
On the edge of the moor and forming part of the township
of Burley is the retired and picturesque hamlet of Stead, a very old
settlement of some note, which had until lately a hall or manor-
house, and where traces of ancient ploughing in the once unenclosed
field are still apparent. The corn-lands of Stead (where now all is
grass and moor) are mentioned five and a half centuries ago.
Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Paytfin of Headingley, who was a
daughter of Sir John Calverley, gave by her last will to Esholt
Nurmery, of which her sister Isabel was made prioress in 1353, all
her corn in Burley and in Le Stede.*
The locality is called from the A-Saxon stade, an inhabited
place, a town, and gave name to a family of considerable standing,
who lived here for many centuries. Though never lords of the
manor they were for a long period the largest landholders in the
township of Burley. In the Poll Tax for A.D. 1379 Peter de Stede,
franklan, heads the list of tax-payers in Burley, being rated at 35. 4d.,
while the remaining tax-payers are assessed at 4d. each. Robert
de Stede, probably a son of Peter, pays 4d. In A.D. 1500 John
Vavasour, Esq., of Newton, held lands &c. in Burley, and two
messuages with nine bovates of land in Stead. At the same time
William Calverley, afterwards Sir William, held nine bovates of land
in Stead, as of his manor of Burley. The Calverleys had owned
the whole manor of Burley, as we have seen, already two centuries.
* See Burton's Man. Ebor. p. 139.
158
Sir William's daughter, Agnes, was second wife of John Vavasour, of
Weston, who was living in 1505. In 1546 Henry VIII. granted the
manor of Stead, then held by Sir William Calverley, to William
Ramsden and Richard Vavasour, and the heirs of the said William
for ever. The Vavasours resided at Stead Hall. Sir Wm. Calverley's
first wife was a Middleton, of Stockeld, and subsequently we find the
manor of Burley held by this family.
The Steads however, were still the principal landholders in
Burley at this time. In 1523 John Steyd, or Stead, of Burley, was
collector of taxes for Skyrack, and himself was rated for lands in
Burley, 2S., while Wm. Steyd, of Burley, paid 2s. 4d. Also Robert,
son of Sir Wm. Calverley, was rated at i2d. for his lands within the
same township. From papers in the vestry of Otley church I gather
that William Vavasour, of Stead Hall, (will dated 1642) left Mary
Pulleyn his sole heir, his aunt Agnes having married John Pulleyn
of Killinghall*; and she, the said Mary, by indenture dated 1645,
left a rent charge of ^10 per annum to the church at Otley, paid
out of a farm at Stead, f which in 1748 belonged to Mr. Stansfield, of
Bradford, and was then in the occupation of Wm. Windsor. At this
time the Pulleyns owned the manor of Burley, as observed a few
pages back.
The Steads, most probably from the Conquest, continued to
reside at Stead until the middle of the present century, an almost
unexampled instance of " steady " (vide Bardsley on Surnames) and
unbroken residence of one family in so small a place. Maude, the
poet (1782) mentions an aged couple, Michael and Mary Stead, who
were born, bred, and died in this village, after 60 years of married
life. The man, who had never been ten miles from home, died in
1764, aged upwards of one hundred, and his equally home-fond
spouse died in 1762, aged 98. Dr. Shaw adds that. Stead Hall once
belonged to the Steads, and that they sold it to the Pulleyns, but see
above.
The old hall was pulled down some years ago, and there are
now only two or three dwellings. The hall farm, with an old orchard
attached, is at present occupied by Mr. Tom Twisleton, the well-known
Craven dialect-poet. He removed here with his wife about three
years ago, having been previously ten years at Esholt and seven
years at picturesque Burnsall, higher up Wharfedale. " Lang Tom
fra' Winskill," as he generally signed himself (being what is known
as a strapping well-built fellow), was bred and born among the crags
of Craven, and his volume of Splinters struck off 'Winskill Jtock, first
published in 1867, has run through several editions. His ancestors
have lived in the Craven dales from time immemorial, and at least
* See the author's Nidderdale, p. 319 etc.
f A copy of the will of Mary Pulleyn, of Stead, dated 1656, is at Otley Church.
one of the family carried bow and battle-axe after the Shepherd
Lord Clifford to the decisive battle of Flodden. No doubt they took
their name from Twisleton, a manor within the parish of Ingleton. A
John de Twisleton appears as the owner of a mill at Twisleton in 1300.
Tom's father, Francis Twisleton, was a very small twin-child,
remembered about Settle as one of the tiniest babies ever seen. The
wise folk of Winskill said he must have been sent by the fairies.
But the bracing air of crag-land soon set him " on his pins," and he
began to grow. In the prime of life he scaled twenty-four stones,
and stood 6 feet 2^2 inches in his stockings, being commonly known
as the Craven giant. His son, the poet, married a Morphet, of
Kirkby Lonsdale, by whom he has had a family of rive sons and
three daughters. The rustic abode he now inhabits seems full of the
poetry of ages, built of the rough moor grit, dark and weathered,
and looking afar down the valley upon a scene that one might
suppose would send even ordinary mortals into poetic rhapsodies.
When I called a year or two ago wild flowers were just beginning to
bloom in the lanes and hedge-rows, and all in good time there were
on the window-sill of the clean and tidy kitchen where I sat two or
three pots brimming with wild star-anemones, primroses, and golden
celandines, the latter being Wordsworth's floral favourite. As I sat
near the open door I could hear the cry of moorland peewits, and
then all at once the blithesome sound of " cuckoo " came dreamily
and pleasantly from the same distant fringe of moorland; the same
sweet twin-notes familiar to us each recurring spring as no doubt they
were ages ago to the sturdy legions from ancient Rome, who passed
close by here on their way to the capital station at Ilkley.
About the Lower Stead farm the ground stands out and raised
in camp-like fashion, but without any definite demarcation, and
commands a wide and enchanting view of the valley southwards.
It is just the place to expect to rind a "burgh," or "stead" (such as
that at Bramhope) lying as it does under the edge of Rumbalds Moor,
and close to the Roman way above alluded to. Very probably the
present road at Burley Wood Head is laid on the line of this old
Roman thoroughfare, as it is scarcely likely that the road after going
over the summit of the Chevin would descend into the valley anywhere
near the present town of Burley. The direction of the road on the
Chevin points indeed over high ground to the north of Menston and
along Burley Wood Head by Stead to Ilkley. But no evidences of
its presence in this immediate locality have been discovered within
living memory that I can find. A valuable and most interesting
tore or necklace of gold was, however, found in close proximity to
this road between the Chevin and Adel in the early part of this
century. But what has become of it I do not know. A similar
kind of tore was found on Rawdon Billing. There are some
prehistoric enclosures and a barrow or two on the moor above Stead.
i6o
Adjoining Lower Stead farm is the large and handsome modern
mansion of Moorville (Peter Garnett, Esq.,) and to the east is Colston,
the seat of H. Rouse, Esq., the present owner of the Stead estate.
From Burley Wood Head it is a pleasant walk eastwards to
Ilkley (2 m) or westwards to Hawksworth and Baildon (5 m). This
truly high road commands a fine view of the valley, with villa and
farm and winding river in endless panorama. Beyond the Wood
Head, going westwards, a road branches to Menston and Guiseley,
and another turns to the right over high ground to the old Gaping
Goose farm (formerly an inn) whence an old paved saddle-lane
(locally known as "T'owd Saddle Loin") leads by the farm at
Faweather (once a grange of Rievaulx Abbey*) to Baildon and
Bingley. About Burley Wood Headf a good deal of "improvement''
has gone on of late years through the development of the district by
the railway. A century ago there were two small cotton-mills on
the rivulet that runs down from the moor. Plane Tree House was
the home of the Gill family, who have lived in the chapelry of Burley
for at least two centuries. Most of the old families have however
disappeared now and some of the old farm-lands have been converted
into building sites. The Beanlands family had for a long period a
good farm here which was inherited by John Beanlands, of Bingley,
which some time before his death in 1862 he sold to his cousin
Timothy Horsfall, whose son Thomas Horsfall, Esq., was lord of the
manor of Burley. He married a daughter of Wm. Garnett, of Otley
Paper Mills, and sister to the Rev. Richard Garnett, of the British
Museum (see page 89) and left three sons (i) Wm. Benjamin,
attorney-at-law ; (2) Arthur Beanlands, M.A., J.P., who died in 1898.
He received his early education at Bingley Grammar School,
Yorkshire, and some time after his marriage settled in Canada, where
he became a member of the senate of Durham University, Canada,
and for forty years was its treasurer. His son, the Rev. Canon
Beanlands, M.A., is at present Rector of the Cathedral in Victoria,
Canada, and vice-president of the Society of Yorkshiremen in that
country ; (3) the Rev. Charles Beanlands, M. A., Vicar of St. Michael's,
Brighton, who died unmarried in 1898.
Stephen Fawcett, the Wharfedale poet, son of a Burley farmer,
was born in 1807 and long resided at Burley Wood Head. A Charles
Kirby, who published some Wharfedale poems, describes himself as
"The Wharfedale poet," but -I can learn little about him. In 1872
appeared his Harp of Wharfedale (Leeds : Bernard and Co.).
* See the author's Airedale, p. 156 etc.
f Burley Wood Head "takes its name from a whimsical joiner, who about a
century ago, built a house here, for which he formed a wooden head, and placed it on
the ridge of the house." MS. History of Wharfedale (1807). This is a remarkable-
explanation seeing that the name of Burley Woodhead occurs in deeds of the 171)1
century. "Burley Woodhead Intacks" are mentioned in 1642.
Baildon, Hawksworth,* Menston, and Guiseley, are healthy and
pleasant places, all in the ancient parish of Otley. Hawksworth
Hall, a fine old Elizabethan mansion, on the site of former homesteads
no doubt dating back to Norman times, was for centuries the seat of
the Hawksworth and Fawkes families, as already described. There
are many early deeds at Farnley Hall relating to this ancient family
patrimony. One of these, dated 1440, mentions Thomas Hawkes-
worth, Esq., as then the owner, and in that year he grants and
demises a farm to his son and heir, John Hawkesworth, "the site
and mansion of his manor of Hawksworth, with all his demesne lands
to the said manor belonging.'' Another deed, dated 1351, mentions
John de Hawkesword as parson of the church of Guiseley. There
are also at Earnley Hall many old deeds relating to Menston. Alan
de Brearhaugh (of Brearhaugh near Harewood) appears to have been
the founder of a family which was living at Menston from the time
of Edward II. to about 1500. In 1650 a VVm. Breary LL.D., was
rector of Guiseley. In 1421 John Elenson, of Menston, gave a bond
for all his goods and chattels to Thomas de Hawkesworth, Robert de
Ottelay, chaplain, and others. There was also an old family of
Roodes, or Rhodes, living at Roodes in the vill of Menston in the i6th
century. The court rolls of Menston go back to the days of Edward
III., and there is one dated 1489 called Curia Militaris of Thomas
Hawkesworth. The old hall at Menston, the seat of Col. Charles
j'airfax (one of \vHostTsons became Dean of Norwich) in the Civil
War time is now a farm-house tenanted by Mr. Jennings Popplewell,
and was lately purchased by Mr. Hart, son of the late vicar of Otley.
An old deed kept in the house mentions Fairfax lands as belonging
to the property. Menston New Hall is the large farmhouse seen
from the Bradford road and south-east of the village. It was built
by one of the Rhodes family in 1740. Confusion sometimes arises
between the two.
Menston has now a melancholy fame as the scene of the latest
County Lunatic Asylum, yet it is pleasant to reflect that in this huge
institution, whose gables and towers are a conspicuous landmark for
many miles around, every provision is made for the comfort and well-
being of the patients, while the management is all that can be desired.
The buildings which were erected about twelve years ago, occupy
part of an estate of 300 acres which the West Riding Justices bought
from Mr. Ayscough Fawkes of Farnley Hall. They are intended to
accommodate 1500 patients and have cost, it is calculated, about a
quarter of a million pounds sterling, inclusive of the site.
* The well-known Hawkstone near here is a curious geological phenomenon, being
part of the natural cliff overhanging the valley which has slipped so as to form a
natural rock-shelter. In Archbishop Gray's Register for 1228, I find mention of a
" Hauekestan " as a boundary-stone, but it is evidently not our Hawkstone. There is a
Hawkstone in Halifax parish.
CHAPTER XI.
Tin-: PARISH OK WKSTON.
Rural aspect- -Antiquity of I he parish -Manorial history The manor never once sold
from the Norman Conquest to the present time Weston Hall Old tithe-barn
The Norman Church The tithes View of the surrounding1 country Whin Castle
I >' >i;' Park, an old Forest l.odj^e Askwith, meaning of its name Historical
records The family of Askwith The Kendalls ( )|(| Ouaker Meeting-House —
\Veslevans \'illag-e inns — Askwith Feast.
JESTON is another of those delightful old Whartedale
villages whose history goes back to the remote past,
and though historically speaking a parish-town, it now
has the appearance of but a diminutive and scattered
hamlet. Few buildings are visible, save its old hall,
church, and tithe-barn, and at the top of the village is " Weston
Manor1' (now being rebuilt), while beneath the shadow of a
magnificent old elm tree stands the one stone remnant of the old
village stocks.
The manor seems to have been an appurtenance of Otley, and
to have been separated from that parish before the Conquest, and
made a small parish of its own, with a separate endowed church.
Soon afterwards the parish took in Dob or Dog Park, and Askwith
with Snowden. In the Domesday survey " VVestone " (doubtless the
town west of Otley*) is stated to have been held in the reign of the
Confessor by one Torbrand, who had five carucates for geld (400
acres) to be worked on the two-field system by five ploughs. It was
granted, with Askwith, and a number of other manors in Yorkshire
which had belonged to the same Saxon owner, to Berenger, son of
Robert de Todeni, who in 1086 had four villanes with one plough,
together with a church and a priest in Weston, who had a couple of
acres of meadow. The whole manor comprised a square leuga,
which is stated by Mr. Pell to contain 1,440 statute acres, and of this
one-half was mast-woodland. The township of Weston now contains
1,280 statute acres, and Askwith has 3,180 acres, which together
form the parish.
In 1284-5 tne manor of Weston was held by Wm. de Stopham
for one-fourth part of a Knight's Fee of John de Vesci, and the said
John of the king. By the i\ominn kiliarum of 1315 the said William
de Stopham, or his son of the same name, is returned as lord of the
manor of Weston. Torre merely observes that Weston was held of
'' There are forty VVestuns in England.
164
the Castle of Skipton, which is explained by the fact of the heiress
of De Vesci marrying a Clifford, lord of the honour of Skipton (see
page 133). Then by the marriage of Alice, daughter and heiress of
the above William de Stopham, to Sir Maugher le Vavasour, of
Hazlewood, the manor passed to the Vavasours, of whom worthy
old Fuller wrote in the days of Charles II., " they never married an
heir, nor buried their wives," a statement, however, as we have seen,
not strictly correct* For more than five centuries the manor was
retained in the male line of this ancient house, when by the death
in 1833 of William Vavasour, Esq., J.P. and D.L. of the West
Riding, it descended to the Rev. John Carter, of Lincoln, vicar of
Weston, who married Ellen, only sister and heiress of Wm. Vavasour.
On the death of her husband she married a seconfd time, and died
in 1845, when her son, Wm. Vavasour Carter, Esq., inherited the
estates. He died in 1852 at the early age of 28, when his eldest
sister, Emma Carter, wife of Chr. Holdsworth Dawson, Esq., of Royds
Hall, Low Moor, succeeded to the property. Mr. Dawson died in
1869, and there is a beautiful stained glass window placed to his
memory in the church. His widow, Mrs. Emma Dawson, died in
1880, and the handsome east window in the private pew on the north
side of the church was placed there to her memory by the National
United Order of Free Gardeners, of which she was an honorary
member, and in whose prosperity Mrs. Dawson took great interest.
Mrs. Dawson also maintained at her own cost the well-known "Emma"
lifeboat at Redcar.-|- The eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Dawson
is Colonel Wm. Chr. Dawson, the present owner of Weston, who
resides at the hall. It thus appears that the manor and estate of
Weston have never once been sold, but have descended by lawful
marriage and inheritance of its various owners from the Norman
Conquest to the present time.
In 1378 there appears to have been a dozen inhabited
tenements at Weston, and the Poll Tax for this year gives the names
of their occupants. But the lord of the manor does not appear to
have been living at Weston at this time, or rather his lady, for the
vill of Hazlewood gives the name of Elizabeth Vavasour, veoue,
(widow) as paying her lord's tax of 2os. being the prescribed rate of
assessment for a knight or chivaler. But the Hall may have been
occupied by a member of the family as Agnes, daughter of Thomas
of the Hall, appears in the Weston list among the ordinary tenants'
* See also Harl MSS., 1400, fo. 74, and Nicholas' Historic Peerage. The Vavasours
first appear in Craven as feudatories of the Romilles in the middle of the I2th century,
when William Vavasor held half a knight's fee in Addingham and Draughton, of the
Honor of Skipton. Vide Lib. Nig. Scacc. I., 322-3.
•(• The memorial tablet on the X. wall to the same lady was erected by the Redcar
Life Boat crew.
rate of .}d.* The name of Allies Vavasour moreover appears at this
time, although the pedigrees shew no Agnes as a daughter of Thomas.
This is, however, the first distinct allusion to Weston Hall.
The present manor-house is a fine old mansion in the Tudor
style, as is also the detached banqueting-hall on the east side of the
adjoining grounds. The latter building is thickly ivy-clad, and
contains shields of arms of Vavasour and Stanley. There were
also originally in the windows armorial devices of the great families
of Claro wapentake, all of whom, no doubt, had at one time or
another, enjoyed the old lords of Weston's hopitality in this picturesque
roomy building. In front of the Hall is a magnificent cedar of
Lebanon, one of the finest and oldest, I should think, in the kingdom.
The one planted by Dr. Richardson in front of Bierley Hall near
Bradford, about the year 1710, is said to be the oldest in England,
and was sent to Bierley as a seedling by his friend, Sir Hans Sloane,
president of the Royal Society. In 1812 the trunk of this Bierley
tree measured 12^ feet in girth, some distance from the ground. It
began to fail a few years ago, and is now dead. Cones of the cedar
were first produced in England in Chelsea Gardens in 1766, but
when the tree was originally imported into this country is not exactly
known. The pond near Weston Hall is the resort of various water
birds, the wild duck breeding here regularly. Worthy of note here,
and a novelty that might be introduced in many estates, is the large
and handsome swimming-bath, erected in a retired part of the
grounds about four years ago for the family's private use.
At the back of the hall is a spacious and lofty tithe-barn of
about the same age as the hall, all the roof-timbers and props being
of forest-oak. Not far away, I am informed, stood the ancient
parsonage which was abandoned and in ruins early this century.
Hard by is the interesting old Domesday church, some original
portions of which are still in evidence in the rude, wide-jointed
masonry of the south wall, which has a narrow, round-headed light,
deeply splayed on the inside only. Singularly this interesting old
church seems never to have been described. In the i6th century
some alterations were evidently made in the church, including the
insertion of a large window in the south wall, and not long afterwards
I find that a local resident, one William Kendall, of Askwith, by will
* A Thomas de Weston appears in the accounts of Bolton Abbey for 1298-9. Also
a John, son of Matilda de Weston appears in the Registers of Archbishop Walter
Giffard (1265-79) among the list of contributors to the Crusade in 1276. He had
assaulted the parish priest of Gargrave and for this affray he must either go on the
Crusade or give to it a third part of his goods. A fruitless and risky undertaking, as
Jerusalem had been stormed and taken by the Saracens in 1244; and at the siege of
Saphet in 1266, 130 Christian knight's and 760 fighting men had been beheaded by the
Soldan of Egypt, tor refusing to renounce their faith. Finally by the capture of Acre
in 1291, the last stronghold of the Christians in the Holy Land had been taken from
them. See Kenrick's Knights Templars,
i66
dated February 23rd 1557, left 38. 4d. towards maintaining a light on
the high altar. An eastward extension of the chancel was made in
1819, and the nave was restored at the same time, the former by the
patron of the church, Wm. Vavasour, Esq., and the latter by the
parishioners. The present porch, as appears by the date upon it,
was erected in 1685. There is no tower, only a small bell-turret at
the west end. The absence of a tower, probably led to the poet
Gray mistaking the inconspicuous church for offices belonging to the
mansion.
In the interior are various armorial emblazonments; also within
a recess on the north side of the chapel of the Vavasours, is an
ancient ridged tomb bearing a shield with the bend dexter of the
Stophams, and a plain cross-hilted sword beneath it, of a style
prevailing at the end of the thirteenth century. But the tomb has
been attributed to the last of the Stophams, who was living in 1312.
Above it is an inscription describing his descent. On the chancel
floor are portions of two early grave-slabs bearing headless incised
Calvary-crosses. Another tomb on the north side of the chancel
commemorates Wm. Vavasour, who died in 1587, and upon it are
shields of Kighley (a fess) Vavasour (a fess dancette), Stopham (a
bend dexter) and another shield not hitherto explained. It bears
three lozenges, two and one, on each a bendlet.* There are several
raised ornaments on the capitals of the pier-arches on the north side,
including the Tau-cross or St. Anthony's crutch, noted in Leathley
church. In the east window are the arms with quarterings, of
Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Clifford, Earl of Cumberland,
who as we have seen, were anciently superior lords of Weston and
Askwith. On the north side is a two-light window bearing two shields,
(i) the fess dancette, of Vavasour, and (2) the three owls on a bend,
of Savile; Sir Mauger Vavasour having married temp. Eliz. Joan or
Jane, daughter of John Savile, Esq., of Stanley, and widow .of Sir
James Metcalfe, Kt, of Nappa Hall, who died in 1580. On the south
wall of the chancel is a memorial inscribed in Latin to John Blencow,
arm., eldest son of Henry Blencow, of Blencow, Co. Cumb., who died
in 1630; also to Anna, second wife of Wm. Vavasour, Esq., who
died in 1645, and to Elizabeth, wife of Henry Thompson, gent., of
Doncaster, who died in 1651. I have already mentioned the
beautiful memorial windows &c. to the Dawsons, and there are
besides tablets to other members of the families of Vavasour and
Carter. There is also a neat memorial brass to Mrs. Susan Spence,
wife of the late Dr. Spence and daughter of Wm. Elmsall Carter, Esq.,
of Weston Manor, who died in 1893. She was coheiress with Mrs.
Dawson of the manor of Weston.
* Mr. J. W. Clay F.S.A., has kindly referred me to Papworth's Armorials, where
this coat is ascribed to John Vavasour, Seal, Harl. MSS., 1178, fo. 117.
,r,7
In IJ.M the church became the property of the See of York, by
gift of Hugh de I.elav or I.eathley (see page 120), who granted it for
the purpose of augmenting the lights in York Minster.* After the
battle of r.annockburn in 1314, the Scots devastated a great part of
\Vharfedale, and Weston suffered sadly, the Archbishop of York in
his returns to the king, made in 13 i 8, stated that the vicarage of
\\Vston would only support a single goat-herd. t The Registers of
Archbishop Greenfield shew that a payment of 100 marks was made
for the ransom of a John de Weston, chamberlain to the king in
Scotland, who was taken prisoner by the Scots in 1313. Likewise a
sum of ^20 was paid for the ransom of Sir Simon Ward, of Guiseley,
in 1314. Many Wharfedale men doubtless took part in the great
battle of Bannock burn.
The Dean and Chapter of York retained the presentation of the
living of Weston till the Reformation, when the Rev. Marten
Wardeman was vicar. He is described in the Certificates of
Chantries as "meanly learned," yet of "honest conversacion and
finalities," and besides being vicar of Weston, was a chantry-priest of
"St. Stephen's" in the Metropolitan Church at York. In 1548 the
parsonage of Weston was declared to be of the yearly value of
£6 i3s. 4d.. and was then in the tenure of Marmaduke Vavisor.
P>y charter of King Edward VI. the tithes of Weston were soon
afterwards given to the governors of the Free School of Sedbergh, and
by lease dated August 22nd, 1561, were granted to William Bainton
of Myddelton, in the parish of Ilkley, the yearly rent being
£6 i3s. 2cl4 The next lease was to William Vavisour, of Burlowe
[Burley], at a rent of ^7 ios., and in 1662 there was a renewal of
the lease to William Vavasour. In the time of Walter Vavasour, of
Weston (died 1780) they were exchanged for some lands at Deepdale
Head (Dent) and ^63 was said to be the value of the tithes, and
;£86 the clear yearly rent of the Dent lands. The register of
Weston church begins with the year 1677.
The country around Weston and Ask with is, as I have said,
exceedingly pleasant. It is sufficiently high and open to command
fine views of the valley, yet protected by the northern range of hills
which bounds the old Forest of Knaresborough, it lies warm and
sheltered on the well-sunned slopes, and almost every house has a
large garden or orchard. The fields around are bright in Spring-
time with creamy cowslips and primroses, and in the lanes grow in
plenty the fragrant sweet-violet, and other attractive or rare wild-
flowers. At one time, and that not very long ago, hardly a slated
* See Archbishop Gray's Register, pp. 142-3.
f Historical Papers from Northern Registers, p. 280.
% A photographic reproduction of the original charter is in Mr. Bernard Wilson's
Sedbergli School Rtgistrt (1X95) a most excellent volume and a pattern that might with
advantage- be imitated by other public schools.
i68
house was to be seen here; all the roofs being of thatch and very
old. Some new building has been going of late years in the
neighbourhood, which is now beginning to wear a more modern
aspect.
From the evidences of antiquity which I have adduced in the
neighbourhood of Otley, the upper parts of Askwith are just the places
where one might expect to find traces of early occupation. On the
Pateley Bridge road, about half-a-mile out of Askwith, is an ancient
thatched farmstead (now in ruins), known from time immemorial as
Win or Whin Castle. But the only thing that can be said in favor of
any assumption of prehistoric belonging, is the fine, commanding site,
occupying as it does a high level plateau, protected on the west by a
deep, wooded gill, while behind to the north rise the dark moors.
No tradition that I can hear of attaches to the place, nor are there
any indications of ramparts or enclosures, which may, however, have
been long ago eradicated by cultivation. While Scales House, the
next farm to the west, has had a certain existence for at least five
centuries — one, Isolda de Scales appearing in the Poll Tax of Askwith
for A.D. 1379, — and two families of Skalwra ah Schalwra in that of
Ilkley at the same time, there is no record of any house at Win Castle
before the present farm-building was erected there, probably in the
1 6th century. This seems to show that the site was already known
as Win Castle before the house was built and the land taken in from
the moor. Part of the moor was enclosed by Act obtained in 1778.
An amusing circumstance connected with this small homestead
was related to me by the late aged tenant of the farm, Hugh England,
who lived there twelve years. Regularly, he says, and sometimes
day after day, he was in the habit of receiving communications from
promoters of public companies, circulars and documents of more or
less importance, and a host of such other applications as the owners
of great houses are accustomed to be hampered with. These came in
such numbers that he might, if so disposed, have papered the few
walls of his ancient dwelling over and over again. Of course it was
plain to see that the senders had mistaken "Win Castle" to be some
lordly residence, instead of the humble, thatched tenement it actually
appears.
On the edge of Weston Moor, to the east of Whin Castle, is the
old Forest lodge of Dog Park (recently corrupted into Dob Park), a
1 7th century home of a branch of the Vavasours of Weston. There
is a tradition that it was shelled during the Civil War by the
soldiers of Cromwell, and before the owners had time to get all their
goods away. Some old pewter plates were long afterwards turned up
in the land adjoining and are now at Weston Hall. The "dog-courts"
(so-called) of the Duchy of Lancaster continued to be held at the old
lodge long after its partial destruction, and on one of the windows
169
were two shields hearing three quoits, the arms of Lancaster. The
lodge has evidently consisted of four stories, turreted.
. \sk\vith, as a village, owes its origin, no doubt, to the Teutonic
settlers, and whether it was actually settled before we have no certain
knowledge.* The name can have nothing to do with the Gaelic asc,
an adder, a snake, but must be compounded from the Teut. (esc, an
ash-tree and i^idr or vitu, a wood ; the ash being the most venerated
of trees in the old Scandinavian mythology.! In Domesday we find
the name written Ascuid and Ascvid, where were two carucates of
land held by Gospatric before the Conquest and where one plough
may be, then worth 2os., now (1086), IDS. Gospatric was permitted
to retain these two carucates, and he employed four villeins to work
them with one plough ; that is by the more profitable system of a
three-year rotation of crops, one third of the arable or sixty acres in
each full carucate alternately lying fallow, and 120 acres annually
producing crops. The Norman Crusader, William de Perci, had also
three carucates of land here, which had been in three manors, held
respectively by Ulchil, Gamel, and Bernulf; likewise Berenger de
Todeni had one carucate, taken from Gamel. The Percy lands had
been worked by two ploughs, and continued to be so cultivated by
four villeins , these several manors being apparently cultivated on
both the two-field and three-field systems.
In 1276 an inquisition was made before the sheriff and
escheator of Yorkshire by Alexander de Kirkby, Richard atte Becke
of Askewyth,J John, son of Thurstan de Denton, Walter, son of
William of the same, and others, who stated upon oath that Mauger,
son of Mauger le Vavasour, then aged 30 years or more, is next heir
of Joan, daughter of William de Dufton, and the said Mauger le
Vavasour was possessed at this time of the manor of Denton and a
moiety of the manor of Askwith, the former held of the Archbishop
of York, and the latter of John, son and heir of Henry de Percy. § In
1284-5 Patrick de Westwyk held a third part of Askwith (being old
Gospatric's share) for one-eighth part of a knight's fee of John de
Vescy, whose patrimony afterwards descended, as previously related,
by marriage to the Cliffords. The Percy share at the same time was
held by the above Mauger le Vavasour for a fourth part of a
knight's fee. In 1291 Adam de Askwith appears as witness to a
deed of conveyance of the manor and lands at Askwith to the same
Mauger le Vavasour, and this Adam is evidently the same" who
* Dr. Whitaker derives the name from akes (oaks) and with or ivath, a ford, which
I think no present-day etymologist will accept.
t The form of the foliage of the ash approximating to the primeval feather-pattern
of the Orient, symbolical of the Tree of Life, may possibly have originated the same
idea in respect to the ash-tree among the northerns.
£ Johannes atte Bek of Askwith appears in the Poll Tax of 1379.
§ Yorksh. Inquisit. Y.A.Jl. (Record Ser.) p. 174.
170
was living at Westwick, near Borough bridge ca. 1300, and to whom
the above Peter de Westwyk bore some relationship.*
Subsequently, as appears by fines dated 1543 and 1547, the
whole manor came into the possession of the Fairfaxes of Denton,
and was by them sold in 1716 to James Ibbetson, a merchant of
Leeds, whose successors about ten years ago made an exchange of
part of the manorial estate with Colonel Dawson, of Weston Hall.
The ancient family of Askwith take their name from this place,
but they have long ago dispersed. The name does not occur
amongst the tenants of Askwith in 1379, though in the Stockeld
deeds for 8th Edward II. (1314) there is a Roger de Askewith
obtaining from Richard, son of Alan, of Stockeld, a quit-claim of
the manor of Lynton in Wetherby.f Of this family was undoubtedly
the celebrated historian and astrologer John Eschuid, who flourished
in the time of Edward III., and whose comprehensive work on
11 Judicial Astrology," first printed at Venice in 1489, at one time
obtained very wide recognition. The Askwiths were for generations
in the service of Fountains Abbey, and one of the family was sheriff
of York city in 1593, and another, Caleb Askwith, was mayor of Leeds
in 1698. He died in 1715-16. See Dugdale's Visitation of York.
The Kendalls were also living in the neighbourhood before the
days of parish registers, and still reside here. It may be noted in
reference to the above date 1314 (the year of Bannockburn) one
Edmond de Kendale was then in Scotland, having previously, as
appears from Scottish State Papers, made a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. In later times we find some of the family had joined the local
Society of Friends, who in spite of their sufferings (in common with
other Nonconformist bodies) during the era of religious persecution,
continued to be upheld with much favour at Askwith. They had a
small Meeting House in Askwith, afterwards taken over by the
Primitive Methodists, who, however, abandoned it about twenty years
ago. The chapel is now in ruins, and the grave-mounds of the old
Quaker burial-ground adjoining are now so much sunk as to be
scarcely discernible above the surrounding greensward. The
Wesleyans are the only dissenting body here now and they have
erected a neat chapel.
Formerly there were two inns in the village, the Black Horse
and the Fox (at the east end of the village), but the latter, whose sign
about 1850 was changed to the Ibbetson Arms, was closed some little
* The above Mauger le Vavasour held lands in Elslack at this time, a fact, I think,
hitherto unrecorded. Among the archives at Bolton Abbey is a deed of Malger
Vavasour granting to Robert Vavasour, his son, and the heirs of his body [he is not
mentioned in the pedigrees] twelve bovates of land in the vill of Helslac for his homage
and service. To hold quit of all service, only doing foreign service as much as belongs
to twelve bovates of land &c. Test. John, Prior of Bolton (1275-1330), Robert
Vavasour, &c.
t Yorkshire County Mag. I, 270,
after it came into possession of the present owner, Col. Dawson.
Tin- village and locality are much frequented by visitors in the
summer season. The highroad from Otley and Farnley to Ilkley
passes through the village, and there is also a branch highway from
it through Washburndale to Pateley Bridge. The old village Feast
(held in July) is now practically a thing of the past, but twent\
ago the event was anticipated with no inconsiderable preparations, and
brought with it a throng of pleasure-seekers from many miles around.
There were flat-races and other games for which prizes were offered,
whilst a horse-race or two was usually run on the highroad between
the village and Weston.
CHAPTER XII.
DF.NTON AND THE FAIRFAXES.
Meaning- of Denton- -St. Helen's Gill -Wild plants, £c. Scales Gill Charter
mentioning' ancient boundaries — Denton, an ancient centre ot the clothing trade
The Fairfax family — Their extraordinary talents — Distinguished visitors at Demon
— Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax —Thomas, Lord Fairfax, the Parliamentary General
Sale of Denton to the Ibbotsons — Denton Hall — Old-time life at the hall The old
chapel — The present church — Old customs.
CONTINENTAL newspaper that recently came under
my notice defined an "island" as "a piece of land
entirely surrounded by Englishmen." Now, Denton
seems to have been a kind of island or tract isolated
from its parent parish of Otley, originally occupied by
Celts and afterwards surrounded by Saxons, who again were
encompassed and subsequently yielded it to the piratical Danes.
But whether it was actually named by Saxon or Dane is uncertain.
The village itself is at no great distance from the deep, wooded glen
known in the higher part as Scales Gill, and lower down as St.
Helen's Gill and Hundwith Gill respectively, and this may be the
A-S. dene which has given the place its name. Or it may be the
town of the Dane, just as Denmark is the mark or boundary of the
Dane. Scales Gill is evidently so-called from the presence of ancient
huts or shealings, as the Scand. skali implies.* St. Helen's Gill and
the Holy Well close by, have been named, (the latter no doubt at
some remote period), after the mother of Constantine, the Roman
Christian emperor. The fact is of some importance, already dealt
with in connection with the early adoption of Christianity in
the capital town of Otley, to which Denton originally belonged.
Hundwith Gill is in Anglo-Saxon literally dog-wood, and may be the
Cornus sanguinea of the botanist, just as the A-S. hund-tunge is the
botanical hound's-tongue.
These historic and picturesque gills are the homes of a great
variety of plants and flowers, as they are also of wild birds. Thrushes,
wagtails, and dippers are resident here all the year round, while in
summer-time one may occasionally get a sight or hear the delicious
notes of the three warblers, the willow-warbler, the wood-warbler,
and the sedge-warbler (the latter often mistaken for the nightingale).
Mr. R. B. Walker, of Denton, states that a year or two ago he noted
that rare and stealthy migrant, the grasshopper-warbler, which was
* See my Romantic Richmond shire, p. 363.
apparently breeding at Denton Park. It is rarely seen on the wing,
but skulks and runs about the underwood with wings half open in
tin- manner of a sandpiper. I do not know whether the bustard has
c\vr been recorded for this locality, but it was once a common
resident in these western dales. Among the Denton householders
in 1379 appears the unusual name of Robert Bustardbank, but
whether his patronym was taken from one of the homesteads on the
gill-bank at Denton it is now impossible to say.
I have just spoken of the old Scandinavian housesteads near
Scales Gill, and it is interesting to note that the descendants of the
original settlers bore the old family names long after the Conquest.
Among the ancient documents at Weston Hall I have noted the
following early (undated) charter:
KNOW all to whom these presents shall come that I, Malger Vavasor, have granted
and conceded, and by this my present charter confirm to Sywarde de Scales, or to him
whom he shall assign, the messuage in which he dwells and the whole land and meadow
within his enclosure, to wit, from the stream which runs towards his house as far as the
stone which is called Ribstonn, in breadth and in length from Scalecroft as far as two
stones which lie at the head of the stream and the culture which lies between Witebec
and auenamker in breadth and in length from the essart of I'll" to the land of Adam the
carpenter. To have and to hold of me and my heirs in fee and free inheritance quietly
and honorably with free common and with all liberties and easements in wood and in
plain, in ways and paths, in moors and waters, in meadows and pastures and in turberies,
and in all other places to the said land belonging. Rendering thence annually in rent
18 pence, namely 9 pence at IVntecost and 9 pence at the (east of St. Martin for all
services and customary dues to the said land belonging. And this grant and
confirmation I make to the said Sywarde or to his assigns for his homage and service.
And I the aforesaid Malger Vavasor and my heirs will warrant against all men the
aforesaid lands and messuage with appurtenances and all liberties and easements thereto
belonging. These being witnesses, Hugh de Halton (?), Galfr Maunsel, Hugh fil'
Hugh, Isaac de Timbil, Ro' fil' Ulf, Adam fil Anthe, Hel' de Champe', Romanno the
clerk, Ric de Kigleswic, Joh' de Pottona, Alan de Denton, Reginald his brother, and
many others.
Denton as I have before explained, was originally given by
Athelstan to the See of York. It was subfeud at an early date to
the Vavasours (see WESTON) and in 1284 Maugerus le Vavasur held
the town for a fourth part of a knight's fee of the Archbishops of
York, who continued lords paramount* In 1379, according to the
poll-tax returns, one Adam Wayte appears to have been then farming
the manor, at which time Denton had a more than ordinary
reputation for clothes-making and drapery goods. Doubtless in the
old time many a monk from the monasteries at Bolton and Arthington,
and many a stout-hearted layman from surrounding places might
have been seen entering the village, staff in hand, or mounted with
yew-bow on his "dapple-grey," intent on exchanging his worn and
seedy habit for a brand-new "rig-out." Robert of the Wood was a
weaver in the village, Richard of Colne, a tailor, had evidently
* See Drake's Ebora£untt p. 625.
'74
removed from that town and had married and settled at Denton
where work was good, as appears by his assessment, although there
was another tailor then in the village. Then again there was a
wealthy merchant-draper, a man of some position, who no doubt
purchased largely from the Otley manufacturers, and who is assessed
at 2S., while every other of the twenty-two householders of Denton
are taxed at 4d. and 6d. each, except squire-farmer Wayte, who pays
i2d. There was then a smithy in the village, too, but the place
really stood largely by clothing.
But the fame of Denton lies chiefly in its alliance with the great
family of Fairfax, "whose name in arms through Europe rings"; a
house, declares Canon Raine, "that not alone in military achievement
but for learning also, has no peer among the families of Yorkshire."
Of ancient and honorable descent its members have been distinguished
alike in commerce, law, literature, politics and arms. Possessed of
ample fortunes, and living for the most part in an era of almost
constant internecine strife and unrest, they have been called into
responsible offices, and their skill and judgement have been sought
during some of the most difficult crises in English public affairs.
Well do such men deserve the remembrance of posterity.
The first of the Yorkshire Fairfaxes of whom we have any record
was William, farmer of the Royal Mint in York, in the time of King
John, whom Robert Davies says "dwelt in the street of Nether
Ousegate, in the parish of St. Michael at Ouse Bridge end."* He it
was who founded the family at Walton, near Thorp Arch, and Steeton
in the Ainsty, at which latter place Sir Guy Fairfax built a castle,
which continued the home of his descendants for several centuries, until
they removed to Newton Kyme. This Sir Guy Fairfax was one of
the Commissioners of Array for the West Riding in 1455, and in 1460
became a Serjeant of Law at Gray's Inn. In 1468 he was King's
Serjeant, and a few years later was elevated to the position of Judge
of the Court of King's Bench, and eventually he became Chief
Justice, and his son and heir Sir William Fairfax, was Chief Justice
of the Court of Common Pleas early in the reign of Henry VIII.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Manners, Kt, (ancestor
of the Duke of Rutland), and his eldest son and heir, also named Sir
William, was the first of the Fairfaxes connected with Denton in
Wharfedale, which he acquired in a somewhat romantic fashion.
Becoming enamoured of a youthful and (tradition says) beautiful nun
at the monastery of Appleton, in the neighbourhood of his fathers
estates, he eventually succeeded in winning her away, and they were
married at Bolton Percy in 1515. Her name was Isabel Thwaites,
and she was not only possessed of an attractive demeanour but had
also a rare wealth. Her father, Thomas Thwaites, made her his
* Vide Walks through the city of York,
heiress — being his only child, — and by this fortunate marriage Sir
William Fairfax obtained the manors of Thwaites, Denton, Askwith,
and Davy-gate in the city of York, and when the monasteries fell he
came into possession of Nun Appleton and Bolton Percy.
The Thwaites family, who held Denton, had been long resident
in this part of Yorkshire. They were originally lardiners to William
the Conqueror, an office which continued hereditary in the family for
many generations afterwards, and of whom some account is given in
Drake's Eboracum (1736). Thwaites in the parish of Keighley was
anciently their property, which afterwards came to the Fairfaxes.
In 1316 John de Thwaites was one of the four joint lords of the
several manors of Keighley. How they became possessed of Denton
is not very clear, but probably it descended through the Brocas family
some time near the end of the i5th century, when Elizabeth, daughter
of Henry Thwaites, married John Vavasour of Weston, who died in
1482. The family had, however, been living at Denton before this
time. There was a John Thwaites, of Denton, temp. Henry VI., a
lawyer of considerable repute, who was legal adviser to Thomas, Lord
Clifford, when a minor and patron of Bolton Priory. His name
appears in the Compotus for 1447 as first counsellor to that lord —
Sir Barnard Brocas, who married Agnes Vavasour, and from whom
she was divorced, but had issue, Sir Barnard Brocas, who was
attainted and executed in 1399, was lord of Denton. William Brocas
grandson of Agnes Vavasour, made over his estate at Denton, by
deed of feofment, to William Gascoigne, John Thwaites, and others,
from whom John Vavasour, of Weston is stated to have recovered
the same.* The above John Thwaites, who died at Denton in 1469,
married Isabella, sister of Sir Wm. Ryther, of Harewood Castle, Kt.,
and was buried by the side of his wife in the chancel of Harewood
Church.
In 1543 a fine was entered between Richard Standish and
William King, plaintiffs, and the above Sir William Fairfax and
Isabel, his wife, deforciants, for the manors of Denton, Thwaites,
Askwith, Bingley and Keighley (the estate at Thwaites), and
Newsome, and thirty messuages, thirty cottages and a watermill
in the same, and in Rawdon, which after the deaths of the said
William and Isabel, remain to Guy Fairfax, their son and heir, and
his lawful male issue, and failing such, on his death, to the male
issue of William and Isabel, and failing such to their female issue,
and failing such to the right heirs of Isabel. Sir William's eldest
* Drake says that Wolsington alias Weston, was in the reign of Edward III the
property of Sir Bernard Brocas, Kt., "which my author thinks he had by marriage of
the daughter and heir of Sir Manger Vavasour, which Sir Mauger was owner thereof
by the grant ot Robert Aiou, who by deed of purchase held it by an annual rent to the
King of ud., called alba-firma, or bla tick-farm, and to appear at the wapentake held at
Ainsty-cross." Eboracum (1736) p. 389.
i76
son, Guy, having become mentally afflicted, his second son, Thomas
succeeded to Denton &c., and his fifth and youngest son, Gabriel,
to the estates at Steeton, Bilbrough, and Bolton Percy, where this
branch of the family still resides. In 1547-8 another fine was made
between Wm. Fairfax Esq., Thos. Oglethorpe Esq. and Michael
Wandesworth gent, plaintiffs, and Sir Wm. Fairfax Kt. and Guy
Fairfax, his son and heir apparent, deforciants, for the manors of
Denton, Askwith, Thwaites, Newsome, Keighley, Bingley, Tolston,
Clifford, and Badsworth, and 120 messuages, 30 cottages, and a
watermill, with lands in the same.
FERDINANDO, LORD FAIRFAX.
Sir William Fairfax died at Denton in 1557-8, and his son and
successor, the above Sir Thomas, was bom in 1521, and died in
1599, and was buried at Denton. A memorial of him is in Otley
Church. He had been trained in the army and was with Charles,
Duke of Bourbon, at the sacking of Rome, an event which led to
the imprisonment of the Pope in 1527. He had a family of seven
sons and five daughters, of whom Edward Fairfax, the poet, linguist
and translator of Tasso, was one, and who at one time resided in
a house called The Stocks, near the Leeds Parish Church, and
177
afterwards .it Newhall near Fewston.* Edward's eldest brother,
Thomas, was created Baron of Cameron, in the Scottish peerage,
in 1627, after having distinguished himself in the wars abroad.
His inscribed effigy, with that of his wife, I have already noticed
in the account of Otley Church. His brother Charles, was an
intrepid soldier also, who took a conspicuous part in the terrible
siege of Ostend, and there received a life-scar in the face by coming
in contact with the smashed skull of a Marshall of France, who was
killed by a canon-ball whilst standing close beside him. These
Fairfaxes were all accounted desperate soldiers, well schooled and
disciplined in all departments of war, yet scholars were they too,
and none the less adepts in the arts of peace. The beautiful
retirement of Denton, with its woodland glades and singing-birds,
must many a time have formed a delightful retreat to war-spent
members of the family after prolonged absences from the old
VVharfedale home. The above Thomas, first Lord Fairfax, when
at Denton, enjoyed the companionship of men of learning, and many
a happy hour must he have passed with kindred spirits in the
noted library at Denton, which at that time was one of the best in
Yorkshire.f He was the friend of all the ripest scholars, authors
and antiquarians of the time, including Roger Dodsworth and Sir
William Dugdale. With Henry, Earl of Cumberland, of Skipton
Castle, who was something of a poet, he and his father were on
terms of the greatest intimacy before the war broke out. Sir Thomas
Herbert, the famous traveller and courtier, and a relative of the
eminent poet, George Herbert, was also an occassional visitor at
Denton, and in his volume of travels in Africa and Asia, Lord
Fairfax wrote some complimentary verses. Sir Thomas Herbert,
who was of the Tintern, in Monmouthshire, family, had a house in
York, and married (i) Lucy, daughter of Sir Walter Alexander Kt.,
* A long account of him will be found in the Rev. Thos. Parkinson's /Mrs and
leaves of the Forest, pages 105-122. See also Grainge's History of Timble p. 69, 76.
f "To Thomas, third Lord Fairfax," observes Whitaker, "we are indebted not only
for the basis of Thoresby's Museum, but what is of more importance, for the voluminous
collections of Dodsworth, which perpetuated so many thousands of charters relating to
the genealogical and monastic antiquities of the northern counties, just transcribed
under his patronage, [Lord Fairfax allowed him an annuity of ^40 for life] before tin-
blowing up of St. Mary's Tower at York consigned the originals to destruction." Ijiidis
and Elmete (1816) p. 195. Lord Fairfax, it has been said, bequeathed the whole of
Dodsworth's priceless MSS., amounting to 122 volumes, to the Bodleian Library, Oxford,
together with about 40 folio volumes of original MSS. which he had collected from
various quarters. But in a note by Byran Fairfax to an account of Kdward Fairfax in
Atterbury's Correspondence, it is stated to have been Henry Fairfax, Dean of Norwich
(and son of Charles) who gave these 160 volumes to the I'niversity of Oxford. The
point, however, is of small consequence beside the larger issue of Lord Fairfax's
sagacity in anticipating the aspirations of the Ages. Had there been more of his genius
in former times, Fnglancl would have been all the richer and brighter in her literary
and historic annals to-day.
i78
one of the gentlemen of the King's Bed-chamber, and (2) Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Gervase Cutler, Kt. of Stainborough, Co. York, by
his second wife, Lady Magdaline Egerton, a daughter of the Earl of.
Bridgwater. Two of his letters written from London in 1631 and
1633-4 to Lord Fairfax at Denton, are printed in the first volume
of the Yorkshire Archceological journal.
Three of Lord Fairfax's sons were slain in battle and his son
Ferdinando, second Lord Fairfax, succeeded to Denton. He married
for his first wife, a daughter of Lord Sheffield, President of the
North, and became, as is well known, leader of the Parliamentary
forces during the disastrous wars with King Charles. He died at
York in March, 1647-8, and was buried at Bolton Percy, where his
monument inscribed with gilded letters may be seen. His redoubtable
son, the famous "Black Tom," the third and great Lord Fairfax, who
was born at Denton in 1611, succeeded to the Wharfedale patrimony.
Being trained in his father's footsteps he became a soldier and
strategist of the first rank, General of the Parliamentary army, and
altogether one of the most notable characters in the whole range of
our national history. I have already on pages 53 to 55 given some
account of this famous general, whose family motto, Fare,fac (say,
do) was singularly illustrative of his whole life's action. When he
spoke and acted it was with earnestness and resolve. Carrying
with him too, title, wealth, and character, besides a natural wisdom
and rare valour, he was a man indeed to be coveted by any party,
and one in whom object rather than self-interest was of most concern.
He possessed a singularly calm demeanour being little affected by
outside circumstances, and in spite of the Colchester outrage, when
ill-counsels prevailed, one might say that no man ever exercised such
coolness and restraint in hours of triumph as did this Lord Fairfax.
As lord of Man and the Isles, his noble feeling and devotion to literature
and religion were likewise equally conspicuous. He set apart the
proceeds of the sequestered Bishopric to the increase of the incomes
of the inferior clergy, and the establishment of Grammar Schools in
the four towns of the Isle of Man, viz. : Castletown, Douglas, Peel,
and Ramsey.* He wrote some "Short Memorials of Himself," not
intended for publication, but a false edition being threatened, they were
printed by authority of Bryan Fairfax, Esq., in 1699.! Lord Fairfax
* See the Manx Socy. Pub., vol. x. (1868) p. 62.
f See also "The King's Cabinet Opened, or Certain Pacquets of Secret Letters and
Papers." Written with the King's own hand, and taken in his Cabinet at Naseby Field,
June 141)1 1645, by victorious Sir Thomas Fairfax ; wherein are many mysteries of State,
tending to the justification of that cause, for which Sir Thomas Fairfax joined battle
that memorable day, clearly laid open, together with some annotations thereupon (1645).
Harleian Miscellany vol. v. (1809). Sir Richard Tangye, of Birmingham, possesses a
unique collection of letters written by Cromwell and the Fairfaxes during the War. At
the sale of the library of the Earl of Ashburnhani in September, 1898, the Fairfax MSS.
realized ^415.
179
spent his la>t days at Xun Appleton, where he died Nov. i2th, 1671
(Whitaker says lie died at Denton), and was buried in the aisle
adjoining to the south side of Bilbrough Church.* He left an only
daughter by his wife, Anne, daughter of Lord Yere, of Tilbury, who
uas born in 1636 and who unfortunately married George Villiers, the
dissolute Duke of Buckingham. The estate at Denton, however, being
entailed on the male line, descended to his cousin Henry, son of the
Rev. Henry Fairfax, rector of I.olton Percy, and grandson of the first
THOMAS, LORD FAIRFAX.
Lord Fairfax. This Henry, fourth Baron Cameron, (who was M.P. for
Co. York in 1678) died at Denton in 1693, aged 86f, when he was
succeeded by Thomas, the fifth lord, also M.P. for Yorkshire, who
died in 1709, leaving Thomas, his eldest son, who died unmarried in
Virginia in 1781, aged 91, and is buried in the old church at
* See Markham's Life of Lord Fair-fax, and Coleridge's Worthies of Yorkshire,
pages 175 to 224, and Fairfax Correspondence,
f It was lit- who munificently restored tin- cclt-braicd liorn of Ulphus to York
Minxttr in 1671, a* n-conU-d in the inscription now upon it.
i8o
Winchester, Virginia. Whitaker is wrong respecting him. Markham
says that his mother was Catherine, daughter and heiress of Thomas,
Lord Culpepper, on whose death she succeeded to Leeds Castle in
Kent, to the proprietary right of the northern neck of Virginia, and
to an estate of 300,000 acres in the Shenandoah Valley. Her
mother was Margaret de Hesse. Lady Fairfax sold Denton and all
the Yorkshire property to pay off the debts on her estates in Kent.
She did this so recklessly that the price given for Denton was covered
by the value of the timber.* This was in 1716, when her husband
having been dead about seven years, her son Thomas, sixth Lord
Fairfax, was twenty-five years old. Burke implies the Yorkshire
property was sold about the year 1739, but in a manuscript book in
vellum cover, in possession of the Rev. Thos. Parkinson, vicar of
North Otterington, appears this contemporary entry.
DENTON, May the i8th 1716 A.D.
MEMORIAL. My Lord ffairfax sold his estate at (3) Denton and Askwith, to one James
Ibbotson of Leeds; and a place near York called Bilborough, to sixe men, — Captain
ffairfax, Barnard Banks, Nathaniel Hird, one Smithe, one Markes, and one Roodman of
York. They took possession on the day and yeare above written.
This day above written James Ibbotson tooke possession and all set there hands to
a paper and paid sixpence. All the tenants paid sixpence, as before mentioned, to Mr.
James Ibbotson, of Leeds, f
Robert, brother to Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, succeeded to the
title and dignity but dying without issue in 1793, the direct male line
became extinct. Bryan Fairfax, however, who was his heir, being
grandson of Henry, next brother to Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax, came
from Virginia to England in 1793 and laid claim to the peerage,
which was allowed by the House of Lords in 1800 , and in 1808, the
House of Commons voted him ,£20,000 in compensation for his losses
in Virginia. The original family claim, I gather, was ^98,000, but
this was reduced by the Select Committee to ^"60,000, and a dispute
soon afterwards arose as to the various interests in this sum, life and
reversionary. Culpepper Court House, which gave its name to a
battle in Virginia in the Civil War of our time, was on the Fairfax
estate. Bryan Fairfax was a Whig and a parson and a great friend
of Washington. He returned to America, and married a Miss
Elizabeth Gary, by whom he had several children. His eldest son,
Thomas, succeeded as ninth Lord Fairfax. He was born in 1762 and
died at Vaucluse, in Virginia, in 1846, aged 84. His eldest son,
Albert Fairfax, died in 1835, m tne life-time of his father, having
married and left issue, his son, Charles Snowden Fairfax, became
tenth Lord Fairfax, and he died in 1869, without issue. His successor,
the eleventh Lord Fairfax, was his only brother, John Contee Fairfax,
M.D., of Northampton, Maryland, U.S.A., who was born in 1830 and
* See also Notes to Maude's Verbeia (1781).
t Lays and Leaves of the Forest, page 189.
rSi
married Mary, daughter of Col. Edmund Kirby of the United States
Army, by whom he has issue three daughters.
On the Ibbetsons coming into possession of Denton in 1716
they did much to improve the estate. I have mentioned Sir Henry
Carr Ibbetson, Bart, as the first President of the Wharfedale
Agricultural Society, and during the best part of his life-time in the
earlier years of this century, Denton Park had a just celebrity for its
fine and carefully-selected breed of short-horns. Sir Henry was a true
lover of the farm and field and liked a good animal. I have before
me an old bill of sale of cattle in 1810 belonging to Mr. Chas.
Colling, of Ketton, near Darlington, when Sir Henry bought a heifer
three years old, by Comet, for 105 guineas. At this sale, the sire,
Comet, then six years old realised 1000 guineas, and the purchasers
Messrs. Wetherell, Trotter, Wright, and Charge, refused the magnificent
offer of 1600 guineas for him soon after the sale !
By the marriage in 1845 °f Laura, daughter of Sir Chas.
Ibbetson, Bart., with the late Marmaduke Wyvill, Esq., M.P., for
Richmond, of Burton Constable, in the North Riding,* the Denton
estate passed to the Wyvills (Sir Chas. Ibbetson's two sons having
died without issue) and is now owned by Marmaduke D'Arcy Wyvill
Esq., M.P. for the Otley Division, Co. York. Mr. Wyvill is a
magistrate of each of the three Ridings of Yorkshire, and a deputy-
lieutenant of the North Riding. In 1871 he married (i) a daughter of
Mr. J. Banner Price, of Kensington, who died in 1895, an^ (2) 'n
1898 Elizabeth, daughter of W. H. Wilson-Todd, Esq., of Halnaby
Hall, Darlington, and Tranby Park, Yorkshire.
Denton Hall, the old home of the Fairfaxes, was accidentally
destroyed by fire, and the present mansion is the third house within
two centuries that is known to have been on or near the site. The
previous smaller one had been erected in 1734, and the present was
erected in 1778, from designs by John Carr, the celebrated architect,
of York.f Twice before had the hall been burnt down through the
carelessness of servants, a circumstance which induced the builder of
the present mansion to compose a Latin verse, which he had affixed
in front of the building. It may be rendered as follows :
NOR WRATH OF JOVE, NOR FIRE, NOR SWORD, I FERVENT PRAY,
MAY THIS FAIR DOME AGAIN IN PROSTRATE RUINS LAY.
The south front, of the mansion, which is about seventy-five feet long,
overlooks an extensive and well-wooded park ; some of the beeches
being of magnificent growth, while clustering woods protect it from
the gales that sweep from the northern moorlands behind. Pleasant
gardens, with hot-houses and green-houses are attached, which
contribute to make this one of the most attractive seats in Wharfedale.
* See the author's RichiHimdshirr, pages 341-2.
t See the Yorks, Anhl. Jniirl. iv., 205-6.
l82
It was at Denton Hall that Prince Rupert lodged on his way
from Lancaster to York, just before the battle of Marston Moor in
1644. There was then in the house a very fine portrait of John
Fairfax, younger brother of the then lord, and Whitaker states that
the Prince was so impressed with the excellence of this painting that
he forbade any spoil to be committed upon the house, an act of
generosity he thinks more likely to be prompted by a fine work of
art than by respect for the owner of Denton. But one is tempted to
question this conclusion, for the character of Lord Fairfax presented
an odd mixture of loyalty and disunion towards the House of Stuart,
and Prince Rupert seems never wholly to have relinquished the hope
DENTON HALL A CENTURY AGO
of his favor, which was as we know so strangely and emphatically
manifested at the Restoration.
In 1667 Denton was occupied by William Welby, who died in
1707, and whose daughter Mary, married Thomas, son of Michael
Fawkes. In the time of the Fairfaxes great state was maintained at
the Hall, and particular care was always exercised respecting the
admission of strangers, who would appear to have been very numerous
and to have represented all classes, from the beggar to the noble.
A porter was employed to attend to the gates, and to keep them
locked after certain hours, he keeping charge of the keys. In the
time of Lord Fairfax, (obit 1640), whose effigy is in Otley Church,
a numerous bevy of servants and attendants lived at the Hall,
including stewards, secretaries, yeomen-of-the-chambers &c., ushers
pages, messengers, butlers, clerk of the kitchen, gardeners, and other
functionaries, reminding one almost of the state routine and multifarious
offices of a large monastic establishment. There was a constant
stream of resident visitors. The chaplain at Denton was required
to say prayers at meal-times, and to see that " one of the chapel-
bells be rung before the prayers one-quarter of an houre, att which
sumons" the victuals were to be in readiness and the butler must
" prepair for coveringe but not cover." In 1610 it is recorded there
was in the house, among other things, " i Great Church Bible, i
Booke of Common Prayer, 20 Long Pikes, and i Great Auncient
Clocke." The pikes and prayer-books remind one of the olden
times when war and religion generally ran hand-in-hand, as we see
sometimes represented on old nameless tombs. The present house
contains some handsome rooms, in which are hung many notable
paintings, and there is also a library of upwards of one thousand
volumes. The mansion is at present let to John Wormald Esq.,
J.P., of Dewsbury, whose son, Lieutenant Wormald, has lately added
further martial renown to the historic home at Denton. He was in
the terrible charge of the 2ist Lancers at the battle of Omdurman in
1898, which led to the capture of Khartoum. On narrowly missing
a rifle-shot from a Dervish, mounted on an Arab horse, he struck
at the man but his sword bent in the action. The Dervish made
off; had he turned round the young English officer would have lost
his life, as his sword was almost useless. I may also mention two
other Wharfedale heroes, Lieut. Hugh V. Fison, second son of Mr.
Fison M.P., of Burley, and Private Harry Dean, of Ilkley, who were
present at the battle of Omdurman, and whose lives were sacrificed
during the same campaign. Their names appear on the brass tablet
lately erected in Newcastle Cathedral by the officers and men of
the Northumberland Fusiliers, to the memory of their thirty-four
comrades who died during this war in the Soudan.
The old chapel at Denton stood near the present mansion but
was taken down at the rebuilding in 1778. It contained a memorial
of Sir Thomas (pb. 1599) and Lady Fairfax (ol>. 1595-6), who were
both interred in the chapel. The painted glass, elated 1699, was
removed from the old chapel and placed in the east window of the
present edifice ; the glass being the work of Henry Gyles, of York, and
depicts David playing on his harp. It bears also the arms of Thomas,
fourth Lord Fairfax. On the west wall of the church is a beautiful
brass tablet, fifteen inches by twenty-four inches, on which is recorded
that the church was formerly a donative, and was given over to the
See of Ripon by Marmaduke Wyvill and Laura, his wife, in 1867,
and was dedicated in honor of St. Helen by William, Lord Bishop of
the Diocese in 1890. It reads as follows : —
St. Helen, mother of Constantine the Great, was chosen as Patroness because of her
close connection with the county of York, and with this neighbourhood in particular.
1 84
Three days have been set apart in her honour by the Church of England: May 3rd
(the finding of the Holy Cross) August i8th (St. Helen's Day) and September I4th
(Holy Cross Day).
The church contains numerous memorials of the Ibbetson family,
the last of whom to reside here was Sir Chas. Ibbetson, Bart., who
died April Qth, 1839, aged sixty. In the churchyard is a stone from
the old church, inscribed to the memory of Frances, the wife of
Henry, Lord Fairfax, of Denton, and daughter of Sir Robert Barwick,
of Toulston, Kt. She died February i4th, 1683.
In the time of the first Lord Fairfax, who, as I have shewn,
lived in . great state at the Hall, there were many customs and
regulations appertaining to the manor which are now obsolete. No
one, for example, was permitted to let a pig go unyoked, nor must
any dog run loose without muzzle; the latter regulation having been
repeatedly enforced and withdrawn, as it now stands. Formerly if
any pig was taken within the hall demesne the owner was to forfeit
is. per pig. No one was allowed to burn any ling on the moor
between Derneen Brow, (now known as Dearncomb, close to the
parish boundary on the north-west) and P'rseley Rigge (now
Lippersley Ridge) on pain of 6s. 8d. forfeit. No one was allowed to
harbour strangers or take in lodgers for longer than a month, on pain
of forfeit of TOS. per month. Among the tenants' names in Queen
Elizabeth's days we find many who seem to have come with the
Thwaites' from the neighbourhood of Keighley, such as Hall, Milner,
Braithwait, Newsom, &c. Sixty years ago the old blacksmith at
Denton, James Thackeray, came over the hill from Nidderdale, and
was doubtless a connection of the Thackerays of the adjoining
parish of Hampsthwaite, who produced the celebrated Archdeacon
Thackeray, whose great-grandson was the eminent novelist, Win.
Makepeace Thackeray. At the same time there was living here a
farmer of the name of Henry Stubbs, whose long connection with the
Forest, proclaims a probable connection with the family of the learned
author of the Constitutional History of England, Dr. William Stubbs,
now Bishop of Oxford, whose Forest ancestry I have referred to in
my history of Nidderdale.
CIIAPTKR XIII.
Il.KI.KV HEKORF. THE NORMAN ( '<>N(.U; KST.
Ilklcy mentioned by I'tolemy A Hrigantian station Meaning of Oliinmi The Anglo-
Saxou subjugation Conjectural --lie of tlic British "city" The Roman station
Description of tlic Roman camp Local discox cries Tlic "Ycrbcia-" stone
Meaning of Wharte The "Hercules" stone, its probable significance Christianity
prevailing in places not reached by the Romans The Celtic Church Karly forms
of baptism A remarkable Roman grave-slab at Ilklev Other discoveries— The
Ilklcy camp the focus of four Roman highways Their routes described Saxon
Christianity at Ilklcy Local sculptured cn>s-,r. Local influence of St. Wilfrid -
Ilklev a Danish mint Antii|iiitv of 'boundaries Ancient methods of cultivation.
,11 K history of Ilklev begins long before the Roman
occupation, for on the authority of Ptolemy, who lived
in the reign of Antoninus Pius, ai. A.D. 150, we learn
that this place was one of the nine capital cities of the
Brigantes, a widespread, brave and warlike race
composed of both Celtic and pre-Celtic clans.* Had these various
tribes been united and better concerted in action, instead of being
continuously at strife with each other, they would probably have
successfully resisted the Roman conquest in the north. But the
British dissension was Rome's opportunity, and thus we find that the
invaders stormed and captured one by one the British camps, or in
the words of Juvenal, Dinic maurontin iiftegias, et castra Bngantum.
In the list of thirty-three cities of the Britons cited by Nennius in
the eighth or ninth century, there is no suggestion of Olicana or
Ilklev, nor even of hnrium or Aldborough, which is said to have
been their chief stronghold, shewing how little reliance can be placed
on complete accuracy of the early historians. That much-doubted
chronicler, Richard of Cirencester, names eight stations of the
Brigantes, five of which, including Olicana, are in modern Yorkshire.!
What may be the true meaning of this word Olicana or Alicana, as
sometimes written, is difficult to decide. The latter form retains a
suggestion of the Roman alica, a coarsely-ground kind of grain, or
spelt-grits, from which a nutritious drink was made, and is mentioned
by the celebrated Roman physician Cornelius Celsus, ca. A.D. 40. On
the whole, however, I incline to the belief that the name is a
Latinised form of a pre-existing British name, in which either the
* See Elton's Origins <>f English History, p. 242.
I So learned an authority as the Rev. D. H. Haigh "finds it impossible to endorse
the judgment that Richard of Cirencester's Roman Itinerary was a forgery," but he will
not commit himself to an opinion as to the genuineness of the Description of Britain
which accompanies it. Yorks. Archl. Jl. iv. 82.
i86
elements, ail, a cliff, ol, a station, and ccann, a headland or rocky
promontory, enter. Thus Ol-y-ceann would be the station by the rocky
headland, a sufficiently near allocation to bring in the prominent
"Cow and Calf." But this is Goidelic-Celtic rather than Cymric-
Celtic, which the names in this part of Wharfedale favor, yet there is
no doubt these rugged fastnesses were the refuges of each successive
wave of Celtic immigration. It should also be considered that as a
cohort of the Lingones was stationed at Ilkley, some additional
weight is given to this conjecture, as the Lingones were Goidels from
Celtic Gaul.
The arts of peace usually bring in their train luxury and
effeminacy, and so it proved with the Roman-conquered Britons, who
on the Roman withdrawal in the fifth century fell an easy prey to
the hungry and eager Anglo-Saxon pirates. Still whatever may be
the original import of the Roman Olicana, singularly the Anglo-
Saxon verb olcecan, meaning to fawn, to please, to gratify, or in a
secondary sense, to cringe, to obey, to submit to superior force,*
expresses pretty clearly what we may expect to have taken place on
the subjugation of the Ilkley stronghold by the Anglo-Saxons, who
so far flattered or terrorised over the natives, that the latter united
with the new-comers. Or what is more likely they fell back for a
time on the surrounding heights, while the foe quietly occupied the
more fertile lands they found already cultivated, just as in recent
times English settlers seized the fertile riparian lands in Australia,
when the poor aborigines withdrew to the wastes. As bearing out
the idea of British cultivation at Ilkley, before the Anglian Conquest
I shall have more to say on the subject when I come to consider the
aspects of the manor during the Norman period.
There is no doubt that the two important Brigantian stations at
Ilkley and Aldborough fell to the Roman power on the invasion of
the district by Agricola; who was appointed legate of Britain in A.D.
78. This great general made Deva (Chester) the point of starting
and attacking the difficult region of the Brigantes ; following no doubt,
much the same route as afterwards formed the military highway
between Manchester, Ilkley, and Aldborough. That the victory of
Agricola in these parts is not mere assumption is shewn by the fact
that the local lead mines were in possession of the Romans within a
few years subsequently. There was discovered on Hayshaw Moor,
to the north of the Roman road from Ilkley by Blubberhouses, two
fine pigs of lead inscribed with the name of the Emperor Domitian,
who reigned from A.D. 81 to 96, and also the date of his consulate
(A.D. 87) and the word Brig, (meaning smelted in the country of the
Brigantes) ; thus affording excellent evidence that the lead mines of
the district were then under Roman control.!
* Vide Diet. Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum, opera et studio Gul. Somneri (1639).
f See the author's Nidderdale, p. 417.
r87
That Briton and Roman and subsequently Romano-Briton and
Anglo-Saxon were eventually united in common husbandry in this
district is proved on the evidence of several Goidelic and Cymric
place-names still existing in the neighbourhood. These British
names have passed down as living words on the lips of Saxon and
Norman and have survived to the present day. Had the Britons
been dispersed or refused allegiance to the foreign conquerors, their
language, of course, would have perished with them, and the
invaders would have coined names for the cliffs and moors, and fields
in their own language. Instead we find that some of the most
ancient names are still in vogue.
The site of the original British "city" at Ilkley can only be
conjectured. For a time no doubt the conquests of Agricola wrought
sad havoc in the district. Tacitus speaks of the Britons forsaking
and burning their own houses out of rage and fury, and of shifting
from one hole to another on their defeat by the strangely-equipped
legions of Agricola. He also speaks of deserted houses and burning
dwellings of the Britons on the hill-sides and eminences, and of their
scouts not meeting a soul.* The probability is that the original
station was nearer the sheltering crags, and not far from the wonderful
perennial springs for which Ilkley is still famous, rather than beside
the open river, where the Romans erected their castra. The Brigantes
ate no fish, though they might get it in plenty, as we learn from Dio
Nicaeus, out of Xiphilin's Epitome, but lived by hunting and on the fruit
of trees. f They also kept cattle, which Caesar tells us was their chief
wealth. The extensive ancient enclosures under Green Hill on the
moor south of Lanshaw Delves have doubtless been places for cattle,
having a rampart with a stockade, but the existing foundations are
rectangular or oblong, or of post-Roman date, and in all probability
are referrable to the 5th century withdrawal of the Romanised Britons
on the Anglian irruption. I shall return to this subject when dealing
with the antiquities of the neighbouring moors.
The foundation-walls of the Roman castra, within which stands
the old Parish Church, are still well defined on the north, west and
east sides. On the north and east especially they form steep
escarpments in which here and there the original masonry may be
seen exposed. This consists of the gritstone of the country, cemented
together with a wonderful mixture of lime and pebbles retaining the
courses as firmly as when first built, and defying the ravages of time
and the elements. The camp, originally of turf, was restored or
rebuilt with stone in the time of the Emperor Severus, ca. A.D. 200.
The small area of it proclaims its early date, while the Roman
method of castrametation was usually to form rectangular or straight
faces with rounded or angular corners, the latter a conspicuous
* See Camden nritannia (Gibson's ed.) p. Ixxvi. I Ibid. p. xliii.
i88
feature of their design, and an example of which still exists, almost
perfect, on Counter Hill, near Addingham.
When the Rev. John VVhitaker visited Ilkley between 1760 and
1770, the site of the Roman camp was such that he was able to
define accurately its extent and appearance, and at this day his
description is worth repeating. He says : —
The area of the Roman Camp in Ilkley can be clearly traced. It is pointed out by
the appellation, Castle Hill, and by the remains of the rampart. The ground is admirably
defended by the Wharfe on the north, and by two brooks on the sides. The western
brook has had half its waters diverted into another channel, but must have been a lively
current before this, and given strength to a brow naturally steep, and rising' from ten to
fifteen yards above it, but in the eastern channel, the brook is still extremely brisk, and
runs about twenty yards below the crest of the eminence. Both of them discharge their
waters into the Wharfe immediately below. The camp was about 100 yards by 160, the
northern barrier ranging along the course of the present land, parallel with and about
twenty yards to the north of the road from Broughton to Aldborough, and the whole
area contains about four acres of ground ;* encompassing the castle, and including the
present church and cemetery. The wall of the station can be seen at the north-western
angle, and is easily discovered under the turf along the whole verge of the brow, being
of the rough millstone-grit of the country. The town was built very near the station
along the course of the road from Broughton, in Banks Croft, Scafe Croft, and some
adjoining closes, and there fragments of brick, remarkably red, have been dug up, and
the foundations of houses remain very visible at present, f
On the abrupt eastern face, overhanging the ravine, may still
be seen, as I have myself observed, bits of red Samian ware as well
as other fragments of glass, tiles, pottery, and bones, protruding from
the ramparts, or having become dislodged have fallen into the brook
below. But no complete excavation of the camp has yet been made.
A well of probable Roman antiquity was discovered a few years ago
while draining the main street.
Camden was the first to record (A.D. 1586) that the Ilkley camp
was rebuilt in Severus' time by Virius Lupus, Legate and Propraetor
of Britain (fa. A.D. 196-202), a circumstance deduced from a stone
then lately dug up near the church. He read it as follows: IM.
SEVERVS AVG ET ANTON INVS CAES DESTINATVS RESTITVERVNT CVRANTE
VIRIO LVPO LEG EORVM PR PR. What has become of this interesting
memorial is not exactly known, but it is probably at Myddelton
Lodge and the inscription is now defaced.^ Another stone mentioned
by Camden as in the walls of the church cannot now be traced. It
was inscribed : RVM CAES AVG ANTONINI ET VERI lovi DILECTI
CAECILIVS PRAEF COM. On the death of Antoninus, surnamed the
* The camp on Castor Cliff, Colne (the Roman Colonio) is of similar small dimensions
though nearly a square, measuring 183 by 173 yards, which includes the ground occupied
by the double ditch and rampart. The actual area of the camp within the walls is 126
by 113 yards. It is usually assigned to the time of Agricola.
f History of Manchester, (1771).
£ Only one other altar in Britain has been found bearing the name of this legate,
and that is at Bowes, where the inscription states that a bath there was restored by
Virius Lupus under the care of Valerius Fronto, of the Vettonian Horse.
i8g
Pious, in A.D. 161, (a coin of whose reign, I am imformed, has lately
been dug up at Grassington) Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
became joint associates in governing the State, and it was during
their reign that Britain broke out in revolt. But favored by Jove or
Jupiter (the greatest of all the gods, the Diu-pater "father of the
heavens'') they triumphed, and this stone was raised at Ilkley in
their honour by Caecilius, prefect of the cohort. Verus died in
A.D. 169. Camden also saw a remarkable old altar-stone, "now,"
he says "put under a pair of stairs," but which was long ago removed
to Myddelton Lodge, where I have seen it and find that the two or
three centuries of constant exposure has left no sign of an inscription.
The stone is eighteen inches square and five feet high. Camden's
reading of it was: VERBEIAE SACRUM CLOD1VS FRONTO PRAEF COH II
LINGONES. The critical eye of Thoresby saw however in the final
words "p. LINGONES,''' while Warburton, who made a drawing of the
altar in 1718, read it "p. LINGON", hence the ^rc/ and not the second
cohort, whose commander had dedicated this altar to Verbeise,
apparently the goddess of the river. For we gather from various
Roman authors that rivers had altars dedicated to them, and every
important stream had its nymph presiding over it.* This Verbeiae
may be a Latinised form of the GoideJic guerif, to heal, and as there
are a number of healing springs, anciently efficacious in a bodily as
well as a spiritual sense, that flow into the Wharfe, the river may
possibly have got its name from these votive waters.! The Lingones,
I have pointed out, were Celts from Gaul, and the French, says
Camden, use the word giierir to express the above meaning. The
Saxon form however, as written by Simeon of Durham, is Hwerf,
which may be variously interpreted. In the Cotton MSS. of the
Gospels, the Vulgate Latin text of which was written about A.D. 680,
the word implies a loan, exchange, or conversion; while in the Rush-
worth or Northumbrian Gloss or version of the four Gospels, written
in the tenth century, hwcorf means distance. Again I find in the
Diet. Saxonico Latino-Anglicum of Somneri, published in 1659, hweorfa
is rendered a whirl, what is hastily turned round, and the verb hweorfan
means to turn, change, wander, or return, while in Credmon's Metrical
Paraphrase, Anglo-Saxon and English, by Thorpe (1832) hwearfian,
cognate with the Norse hvarf, a sharp bend, similarly implies a
turning or winding round ; though if twisting or turning be the true
meaning of Wharfe, it is difficult to understand why this characteristic
should be applied to the Wharfe in preference to other of the
Yorkshire rivers, unless it be from the fact that the Wharfe after
* In 1702 an altar was found at Greta Bridge, near Barnard Castle, dedicated to the
nymph goddess Elauna, apparently the nymph of the Lune.
fin South Africa garief means a river, e.g., Ky-garief (yellow river), Nu-garief
(black rivt-r) £r. I'/V/r Blarkii-'s I'hui' Xames, p. 87.
190
flowing almost due south to Ilkley, makes a sharp bend eastwards
under the Chevin towards Harewood and York.*
There is a curiously sculptured stone in the north wall of the
tower, but unfortunately concealed by the raised wooden flooring,
though a plaster-cast has been made of it, which may be seen in the
church. The stone is uninscribed and bears the design in relief of
a half-length human figure, with the head half-encircled with a hood
or cap. There are two serpent-like objects passing from the top of
the stone down each side of the head and the ends are apparently
grasped one in each hand. If one may accept Cough's tradition
THE ILKLEY STONE.
FONT AT EAST HADDON.
(vide Camdeti) that "it is a statue of the goddess Verbeiae, and was
anciently placed on her altar," the inference may be drawn that the
two serpentine objects are intended to typify the courses of certain
sacred streams entering the symbolized body of the Wharfe. But
this is a very plausible theory. The stone may possibly have some
connection with the river or holy-water, and I am prone to believe it
was in this way. The serpent is always in early Christian sculpture
the symbol of evil or of sin, and it seems to me that these two long
snake-like objects have this particular character and meaning. They
are apparently being strangled by the small-waisted, youthful figure
* The village of Wharfe, near Austwick, appears in the Poll Tax (Austwyk) for
'.W as Qlterf-
t9t
shewn on the stone, thus symbolizing, I venture to think, the conquest
of sin after baptism. The sculpture is commonly accepted as a
representation of the infant Hercules strangling the serpents, but the
figure has little to suggest the god of strength, nor can I conceive
what a statue of Verbeise has to do with strangling serpents.
Some support, however, is given to my contention by the fact
of the representation of strangled serpents on certain baptismal fonts
(and perhaps the drowned leviathans on the Burnsall font conveys the
same meaning). For example, on the Norman font at East Haddon,
in Northamptonshire (shewn on the annexed plate), there is sculptured
in low relief a similar slender half-length figure, wearing a flat or
slightly rounded hood, and grasping in each hand a long writhing
serpent, each being carried to the right and left half way round the
font. Appearing on such an object it has doubtless the meaning
above expressed. But whether the Ilkley stone be Roman or later
I am not prepared to say. It may possibly have formed some part
of a baptistery even during the Roman occupation of Ilkley, as the
priest Tertullian, writing about the year 208, mentions the consecration
of water at baptism (De Bapt. c.iv.), though it was not till the reign of
Constantine the Great, or early in the 4th century, that baptisteries
first came into use, and they were then, moreover, invariably
furnished with an altar.
I have elsewhere contended that the early Christians found a
strong refuge in the recesses of the Wharfedale moors during their
persecutions and varying fortunes in the after-days of the Romans.
The same priest, Tertullian, (ca. 208), tells us plainly that the lamp
of divine truth had begun to shine "in camp, and senate, and forum,"
in remote parts of Britain, while the further statement is made : —
Brittannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo veto subdita. No other
construction can be put upon these words than that Christ had
conquered even places in Britain which the Romans had not then
reached. That the Britons were Christians at this early period is
also reasserted by Origen in 239.* It is indeed not too much to
affirm — nay, I do so with the fullest conviction — that even so late as
the conquest of Saxon Northumbria by the Cymric Christian Cadwalla
in 633, the Britons were in ignorance of any connection with Romish
Christianity, and the council at Whitby in 664 strongly confirms this.
What district then more likely than Wharfedale, in the heart of
Christian Elmete, as authorities are agreed it proved, to stand by
the old Celtic usages, and further the divine impulsus? Even after
the forced suppression of the Celtic Church, the persuasive St. Wilfrid,
notwithstanding the eloquence of his tongue and the erection of
* See Haddon and Stubbs, Couticils i. 3. f See also George Esdaile's paper on this
snl)'|cct in the Transactions of the I.ano. and Cheshire Antiq. Socv. vol. vii. p. 108-116.
192
beautiful crosses, found it next to impossible to convert the steadfast
Britons, as we learn from the venerable Bede. There can surely be
no district in England (considering, too, its remote and mountainous
character), richer in early Christian memorials than Wharfedale in
Elmete. Ilkley, like Otley, I take to have been a stronghold of the
simple Apostolic Celtic Church, and there is abundant negative
evidence to support this belief. And before the Romans left Britain
ROMAN GRAVESTONE FOUND AT ILKLEY.
it is certain that the faith of Christ was followed, in name at least,
by every country in Western Europe, save Germany, and even in the
remotest parts of North Britain and Ireland.* And all this gives
color to the belief that the ordination of baptism was not unknown in
Wharfedale even in Roman times.
A stone found at Ilkley in 1867, while excavating for the
* See O'Hanlon's Lives of Irish Saints, vols. ii. iii. iv. ; also Aran, Pagan and
Christian, by W. F. Wakeman in Duffy's Hibernian Magazine, vol. i. p. 577.
'
T-SIBI: E r
ROMAN GRAVE SLAB AT YORK.
194
foundations of the Independent Chapel, in Green Lane, may
possibly bear upon this subject. It is five feet eight inches long and
three feet four inches wide, and is now at Myddelton Lodge. It is
divided into two parts, the uppermost occupied by raised sculptures
of three human beings, said to be a father, mother, and child, and
the lower compartment has an uninscribed rectangular tablet having
an arm on each side forming a kind of cross-patee. The top of the
stone is arched, the centre point being raised a little above the line
of impost, the inner arch being semi-circular and the outer pointed.
The late Mr. F. A. Leyland, the historian, of Halifax, was the first
to point out that the centre figure represents a priest, as shewn by
the chasuble, cup, and wafer, while the deacon in Mass canonicals
appears on the left, and on the right is depicted a youthful acolyte,
with his symbols ; all the figures being robed in vestments as worn
at the altar, and in which it was usual to bury them. The stone
may possibly have been a memorial slab, like one at York here
depicted for comparison, which commemorates the wife of one C.
yEresius, a soldier of the sixth legion, and his infant son and
daughter.* See illustrations on pages 192 and 193.
Other sculptured stones, as well as pottery, urns, glass, and
Roman hand-mills have been dug up from time to time in and about
the site of the camp. A fine vase was also discovered while
excavating for the foundations of the railway station. Few coins
have been found, and these include two silver ones of Antoninus
Pius (A.D. 138-161) and a few brass ones of Vespasian and Hadrian
(A.D. 69-138). Mr. J. A. Middlebrook, of Ilkley, has also shewed
me a coin of Trajan which was found whilst sodding behind the
Lister Arms hotel (the sods were brought from Middleton) some three
or four years ago, which I have been able to decipher as follows :
Ob. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC. Rev. PM TRP COS VI
pp SPQR OB cs. (Pater patriae ; senatus populus que Romanus ob civis
sen'atos ; i.e. the Roman Senate and people for saving the citizens).
Trajan was Governor of Germany and the first foreigner who reigned
in Rome. He conquered the warlike Dacians and added their
kingdom to the Roman Empire. He succeeded Nerva in A.D. 98,
and died in 117, and this coin was struck during his sixth consulate.
Many of the objects have got dispersed, but there still remains a
* I ;uri told that the design as thus interpreted has been doubted, but if the
sculpture does not symbolize Roman Christianity, one would like to know what it does
represent. The centre figure has a noticeably smaller and less masculine head than the
next figure of equal height, and may represent a woman, but what is the vessel held in
the right hand if not a chalice? Mr. Langdon, in his Early Crosses of Cornwall (1890),
pictures some objects sculptured on crosses at St. Dennis that look like hour-glasses,
and observes that the only things of this shape which he has seen are some glass
tumblers about three inches high which were taken out of a grave in the old Roman
burying ground near Rio Tinto, in Spain.
195
number of interesting Roman and other relics found in the
neighbourhood in the museum at Ilkley.*
The camp at Ilkley was the focus of four important Roman
highways, of which, however, few traces are now in evidence. Some
years ago when the brickworks on the opposite side of the river were
in progress, several portions of a paved road were discovered,
doubtless continuous with that over Middleton and Blubberhouses
Moors,-*- crossing the Nidd near Hampsthwaite Church and thence
towards Aldborough. It may be traced to the west of Middleton
Moorhouses, and passes close to an old quarry west of Windsover
Farm (A.S. windl, to wind, and ofer, a border, boundary, or shore).
This road from Ilkley appears to have taken an almost due north
and south direction. Mr. J. A. Middlebrook, of Ilkley, tells me that
whilst his men were draining three years ago in the Rose and Crown
yard, they came upon a cobble pavement twelve feet wide, which
was again found in the Grove near the District Council's offices.*
The second of these roads, already described, crossed Bramhope
Moor and the Chevin from Adel,§ and a third left Ilkley on the
west, and, says John Whitaker (1771), "is still traceable for three
miles together from Ilkley, and then appears very conspicuous for a
whole one upon a large moor in the parish of old Addingham.
Here it is parallel with and a few yards to the south of the present
way to Skipton " (by Cross Bank and over Draughton Heights near
Close House), passing some distance to the south of the town."
Crossing the Aire valley it can still be traced south of Broughton
Church, || and thence in a south-westerly direction between Barnolds-
An account of the objects in the museum, by .Mr. \Vm. Cudworth, will be found
in the Reliquary for October, 1898.
f On Blubberhouses Moor a cart-track occupies the ancient stratum for about a mile,
which is only used by the farmers when carting peat and turf from the moor. The road
here is not paved with large stones edged with still larger [as described by Dr.
Whitaker], but composed of broken stones or rough gravel, with a raised centre ii>
allow the escape of water to the sides, similar to our best modern roads, about ten feet
in width and a foot in thickness. .SVr \Vm. Grainge's Thnhli' (1895), page 85, and ,w
also his History of Harrogate, &c. (1871), page 32.
£ See also Bradford Antiquary (1898), p. .253.
S In the middle of a field at the end of Cross Lane on the south side of York Gate
plantation is a flatfish rough-shaped stone, nearly six feet high, which is believed to be
a Roman mile-stone. No inscription is visible upon it, nor is it within fifty yards ot
the mapped direction of the Roman road. The base is below the ground, and is said
to be socketed to retain the upright stone.
^f History of Manchester (\Yi\\ p. 194.
The rector of Broughton informs me that in the spring of 1899 while some
draining was being carried on in low-lying ground, about 300 yards south of the
church, he told the man to keep a sharp look out for the Roman road, marked on the
Ordnance Map at this point. The pavement was discovered about two feet below the
surface, composed of large setts, and the road is seven yards wide. The rector has also
lately obtained a Roman coin of Constantine the Great, found by a man while digging
war Craroe. Another coin of this Kmperor was found at Graxsington.
196
wick and Bracewell by Chatburn to Ribchester. Drake in his
Eboracum (A.D. 1736), in referring to this road from Ribchester to
Ilkley, mentions Warburton's map* shewing the direction of the road,
whose stone pavement, he says, "is yet in many places very firm,
being eight yards broad. It comes to Gisburn, crosses Ramwalds
Moor to that known station Olicana." The road from Ilkley to
Colne (Co/onio) appears to have taken a very round-about course,
following the Manchester road southwards to near Denholme, whence
its direction was westwards through Oxenhope. But there seems no
reason why these stations should not have been reached by a much
quicker route, and there are good grounds for assuming that this was
the case. The Manchester road came by Hainworth and in all
probability crossed the river Aire between Stockbridge and East
Riddlesden Hall (where is an ancient ford), thence it mounted the
hill direct past Upwood and Brass Castle. But a mile to the west
of this road in the Aire valley are indications of an ancient thorough-
fare crossing the river at a place called Jow or Jowl Hole in Low
Utley, whence it probably took along the hill side towards Steeton,
and an old lane leading from the south end of the village was, until
the new road was made, called Wood Street.! Whether any road
crossed the moor hence direct westwards to Colne, or whether there
was a direct route to the camp at Broughton, nothing satisfactory
can be said. It was however, not far from Elam Grange, on the
opposite side of the river to Low Utley, and probably a mile west of
the Manchester and Ilkley road, that the famous copper chest
containing nearly icolb. weight of Roman denarii, was found, the
intrinsic value of which was about ^400.
The south road from Ilkley to Manchester has been described
in an exhaustive paper by Mr. J. Norton Dickons, ex-president of the
Bradford Historical Society. § This road enters Yorkshire from
Lancashire by the elevated moors of Blackstone Edge, where for
about a mile the paved roadway, 16 feet wide, with its curious centre
groove, is still visible. With the exception of the four or five miles
of pavement over the Gog-Magog Hills, near Cambridge, this is
perhaps the most extensive and perfect Roman military way now
remaining exposed in England. The road passes through the parish
of Bingley,*' and as stated above, probably crossed the Aire near
Stockbridge, whence ascending the hill by the mansion of Upwood,
where the late Mr. Busfeild, M.P., who died in 1851, "broke up at
various times nearly a mile of this road within his property." it
* This map is exceedingly rare, and the only known copy is in the Bradford Public
Library.
t See the author's Airedale, p. 197. £ See the author's Old Bingley, pp. 58, 338, &c.
§ Vide Bradford Antiquary, 1898, pp. 239-254 (with map).
*! See the author's "Old Bingley," pp. 53-58.
Vide Cudworth's Round about Bradford, p. 186.
i97
traverses RiiinbuMs Moor, and "the slope of Weary Hill on the lines
of the modern road from Keighley behind the Wells House at Ilkley,
but in a more direct line."* Among the collection of antiquities
exhibited at the meeting of the Archrelogical Institute at York in 1846
there was shewn by Miss M. Ellis, of Castlefield, Bingley, impressions
from silver coins of Domitian, Antoninus, M. Aurelius, and Commodus.
from the hoard found at Elam, near Keighley, together with three
plans, shewing the course of the Roman road in the parish of Bingley,
and ancient remains near that place. f What has become of these
plans I have been unable to discover after the fullest enquiry.
The impetus given to Romanized Christianity in Wharfedale by
the preaching of Paulinas in the yth century, and afterwards by St.
Wilfrid, I have already dwelt upon, and Ilkley boasts the possession
of three Christian crosses of this period, of almost unrivalled excellence
of workmanship. They are ideals in Christian sculpture, and represent
the climax of pre-Norman art. From what I have written about
Otley as a stronghold of Celtic Christianity in the north, it is
extremely probable that Paulinas himself and St. Wilfrid a little later
visited both Otley and Ilkley, and these superb crosses mark the
epoch of a great Christian endeavour. The valley of the VVharfe is
still exceptionally rich in early sculptured crosses, which seem to
indicate the revival of a faith that had long slumbered, — a kind of
joyous peal rung through the heart of old Elmete in these imperishable
emblems of Our Lord's Passion !
In the contorted animal forms shewn on these crosses which
are represented biting their tails, or with a single paw raised in an
attitude of weak defiance, the whole surmounted by the glorified
Christ (unless this be a representation of St. Wilfrid, with his pastoral
staff) we apparently discern the triumph of Christianity over the base
religion of the gods, as exemplified in the apochryphal Gospel of the
Nativity, when dragons and beasts knew the Saviour in the desert
and acknowledged Him. We find the same unsettled idea expressed
at a later date' in the protracted contest between Danish paganism
and native Christianity, when St. Olaf (who appears to have inherited
the attributes of Thor in the Norse mythology) is represented as
trampling on the dragon, and in whose honor many churches in
England are dedicated. It is, indeed, not unlikely that St. Olaf in
this guise is the original of St. George, the patron saint of England.
The three crosses have been permanently fixed in a stone base in
Ilkley churchyard, and they have been described by Mr. T. J.
Pettigrew, F.R.S., and a later and much fuller description of them
has been given by Mr. J. Romilly Allen, F.S.A., accompanied by
illustrations.^ The two shorter crosses had for a long time served
* Bradford Antiquary, 1898, p. 250. f See Proc . Anhl. hist., 1846, Pt. ii. pp. 9-13.
•£See Brit. Archaeol. Jl. vol. xx. (1864) and vol. xl. (1884); also Phillip's Rivers,
Mountains &c. ofYvrksh. (1855) pi. 17, and Whitakcr's Craven, ,-,rd cd. (1878) p. 284.
198
ignominiously as gate posts to the churchyard. The principal cross,
which is of local gritstone, is eight feet four inches high, without
head, which is lost. On one side of it are four panels, each bearing
a symbolical figure of the four Evangelists holding the book of his
Gospel, and arranged from the bottom in this order (i) St. Matthew
(the Man), (2) St. Mark (the Lion), (3) St. Luke (the Bull), (4) St.
John (the Eagle). On the opposite side are four other panels, three
of them bearing designs of upright (interlaced) animals, as described
above, while the top one has a human figure clothed and nimbed,
holding in the left hand a pastoral staff with the crook turned
outwards, perhaps intended to represent the Saviour. The two other
sides are beautifully ornamented in a uniform scroll pattern,
terminating with bunches of grapes and leaves. This design and
the frequent use of the vine in Northumbrian crosses, is one of the
most common ornaments of the crosses in Italy and France, and
there can be little doubt that its use in our neighbourhood is referrable
to the skilled workmen whom St. Wilfrid brought with him from the
Continent. At St. Wilfrid's church at Hexham, begun in 674, we
have the same vine pattern as at Ilkley and Otley.* The familiar
triquetra, or three-cornered knot (in this case angular) also appears
on one of these sides. There are also two interlaced serpentine
animals depicted at the bottom of the same side, beneath the
fruiting scrolls, from which one might possibly construe the Biblical
version of the Spirit of Evil lurking beneath the Tree of Life, or as
Milton, in describing the Tempter addressing Eve in Paradise Lost,
says —
About the mossy trunk I wound me soon ;
For high from ground, the branches would require
Thy utmost reach, or Adam's, round the tree
All other beasts that saw, with like desire
Longing and envying stood, but could not reach.
The sculpture of the two other crosses (which are now little
more than half the height of the one described) is equally dexterously
wrought in the millstone grit of the neighbourhood. As time wore
on towards the tenth century there was a gradual debasement in this
class of work, both in idea and execution. The Guiseley cross is an
example of late work, as appears also the portion of a cross found in
the river in Ilkley, in June, 1889. This stone is thirty-two inches
long, about ten inches broad and six inches thick, and has been
sculptured on all four sides. One of the sides bears the design of
an interlaced monster, and may equally with above symbolize the
temptation that ever lurks in the path of the righteous.
* It is to be regretted that these unique crosses are still exposed to the deteriorating
effects of the weather. If no suitable place can be found for them inside the church,
a special annex might be erected for their better preservation, as has been done at
Ruthwell. A small sketch of the crosses appears at the end of this chapter.
199
On the Danish irruption in 870 nearly ;ill the religious houses
in Yorkshire and other parts of England that were overrun were more
or less destroyed. The Archbishop of York fled into Wharfedale,
and according to Simeon of Durham remained some time in exile at
Addingham. The Danes came up the valley and every Christian
temple was demolished. The Rev. Daniel Haigh contends they
were so firmly established in this part of Wharfedale that Ilkley
became one of the northern mints under the Danish Kings.* The
Anglo-Saxon population must have taken refuge, like the Celts had
before them, on the surrounding heights. The frequent occurrence
of Anglian and Celtic place-names on conjoined ground gives some
credence to this belief. The old boundaries also do not seem to
have been disturbed through the successive ownerships of Celt,
Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Norman, and even to our own time we
find the ancient tribal divisions retained as township and parish
boundaries, fixed as some of these divisions were by the oldest tribes
of which we have any certain knowledge. I find evidence of these
primitive tribal lines having been retained everywhere in Wharfedale.
The Goidelic-Celtic bealach, a passage from one place to another, a
boundary, occurs in the form of black, as in Black Hill, Black Beck,
Black Pasture, and the like, in every parish in Wharfedale, a most
significant fact, which has not been hitherto noticed. It is usually
found upon high ground in outlying parts of the township or parish,
and always upon or close to the present boundaries. In the same
territories we likewise often meet with the Anglo-Saxon mearc, Norm-
French, merche, a boundary, in the modernised form of March or
Marsh, and always contiguous to the same Celtic tribal lines, which
have been commonly adopted as parochial or other divisions to our
own day.
When the Romans left Ilkley, the old tribal divisions which had
never been really extinguished by Roman rule, were again renewed,
and it became the universal law of all subsequent peoples not to
disturb the old landmarks. Stone pillars, trees, particularly the ash
and thorn, wells, and rocks, especially those which had some sacred
or important association, were set up or adopted as the defining marks,
and so rigidly did the Teutonic nations abide by them that anyone who
removed or destroyed these old boundaries was condemned to be
buried up to the neck and then ploughed to death.
As with the boundaries so with husbandry. The old British and
Roman methods of cultivation were retained by the after-comers.
I have pointed out the early prevalence of the three-field system of
cropping in Wharfedale, that is each field bore two crops of a
different kind in turn, and then lay fallow. This was not the plan
followed by the northern nations of the Continent, such as the Angles,
* Yorks. A rch. Jl. , iv. 374.
200
Saxons, and Danes, but it was a system which is well-known to have
prevailed in Southern Germany, and the parts affected by Roman
intercourse. Yet it is still a moot-point whether the Romans
introduced it into England or found it already here. Ilkley, however
would seem to have been a two-field township. In the reign of the
Confessor we find that it was held by a noble thane named Gamel.
He had three carucates of land to be taxed which were worked by two
ploughs, that is the taxed carucate consisted of eighty acres, assuming
that there were 240 acres in each field, which there must have been
if a two-field manor, 240 annually fallow and 240 tilled. These,
divided by three, give eighty acres as the normal area of a geldable
carucate in a two-field manor ; though if the land, as was evideatly
the case at Ilkley, could be worked by two ploughs instead of the
usual three ploughs there were 120 acres to each plough, being the
normal taxable carucate in a three-field manor. Canon Taylor
attributes these anomalies between the number of ploughs and
carucates, either to the lightness of the soil (enabling the work to be
clone by two-thirds the number of ploughs), to the exceptional value
of the land, or to favorable geldation, as seems to have been the case
with certain monastic lands.
into the Roman fosse (as it does still) below the ancient church,
which at that time had a very small congregation and looked little
better than an Irish cottar's dwelling, with its mud floor and shaky
old furniture. Higher up was the old corn-mill, originally erected
early in the twelfth century ; in later days it was a saw-mill, with its
ever-murmuring water-wheel and the crystal pond beside it. The
accompanying illustration taken from West View about thirty years
ago, shews the old mill and pond close to the left of the road. The
heather at that time came quite down into Brook Street and spread
itself in many places where are now macadamised avenues and busy
thoroughfares.
The famous Cow and Calf rocks were then in a wild spot ;
indeed, rarely visited, and numbers of hawks and jackdaws used to
nest there regularly. Doubtless in former times these crag sides were
the lurking places of the wolf and savage wild-cat. In the Ilkley
registers so late as the year 1691 I find rewards were paid for the
capture of wild-cats which then infested the parish. In that year
Thomas Smith is paid Sd. for "a Wild catt head," and for two more
to Thomas Stead the churchwardens pay is. 4d. This animal
infested the gills in the higher parts of the dale down even to the
present century.* The Cow and Calf rocks have a long and notable
history, which will be dealt with in the next chapter. When our
beloved Queen was crowned in 1838, a great fire blazed on these
famous stones, and Ilkley I am told, was "illuminated." But the
illuminations were of a singularly humble character. Some of the
residents hung out a lamp or two, while the shop-windows sported an
extra candle, much to the astonishment of the youthful urchins of
the town, who knew exactly how much light each little window was
wont to boast. A few farthing candles adorned the tops of props in
the still June night, and the late Mr. Hezekiah Dobson told me he
well remembered seeing one of these fine illuminants set up on the
Addingham road guide-post, doing full honor to the occasion. The
humble light, however, was not suffered to run its course, for a
niggardly man soon came along saying he thought it a piece of rash
extravagance in such a place, and forthwith tore it down and marched
off with it without further explanation. The familiar Cow Pastures
also was a quiet lonely place, at this time often resorted to by bands
of gipsies, and it is little more than forty years ago, or just before
the land was enclosed, a lady visitor was found murdered on this
spot, the crime it was generally supposed having been perpetrated by
gipsies intent on gain. Such facts seem hard to believe in these
later days when the same hill-sides are covered with villas and
pleasant gardens, and visitors are seen moving in all directions
* I have no doubt that Cat Gill near Bolton Abbey, is named from the same
circumstance.
203
enjoying the bracing moorland breezes and magnificent scenery of
this favorite spa.
The view prefacing this chapter of the Old Ilkley I have
described, is reproduced from a scarce engraving in possession of my
father-in-law, Mr. Win. Butterfield, son of Mr. Samuel Butterfield, who
was born at Hsholt in Otley parish, in 1801, and whose kindred have
resided in the neighbourhood for centuries. Of the same stock was
Mr. Wm. Butterfield, a well-known Ilkley character in his time, who
rented the old White Wells on the moor-side at Ilkley in 1820, and
whose descendants in the third generation, are still there.* The
bath-rooms and receptacles at the White House remain as originally
constructed, and the stables beneath, though not now used for this
purpose, are also the same. Formerly visitors who were too feeble
to walk, rode up from the village on the backs of ponies or as
which were kept in the stable named, while the visitor enjoyed his or
her invigorating cold bath. The Ilkley registers for August, 1793,
record a singular accident to a girl aged nine, who was drowned in
one of these baths whilst attempting to bathe herself. One of the
baths is beautifully draped with an old growth of wild golden-
saxifrage, and other water-loving plants, and looks very much like a
mountain pot-hole. The water is deliciously clear, cold and bracing,
and is derived from the ancient Roman Spring above alluded to.t
The Norman ravages at the Conquest turned those fruitful acres
I have mentioned at the close of the last chapter into "waste," and
when the Conqueror bestowed the manor on his confederate, William
de Percy, it was of no present value. The people had nearly all
fled or were so impoverished they could pay no taxes, and the
endowed Saxon church, mentioned in Domesday, must for a time
have had few or no worshippers and have been left to neglect and
decay.
The Archbishop of York had also an unnamed berewic in Ilkley
parish, most probably Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, as it lay contiguous
to the Archbishop's land in Burley, as part of the original manor of
Otley. But the manorial title to Ilkley rested with the Percies, and
through them to the mesne lords, De Kyme or Keyme (the earliest
British term by the way, for an elf or fairy, and there were fairies in
plenty about the Ilkley crags, as will be learnt in the next chapter)
who are closely associated with the history of the beautiful old manor
of Newton Kyme, and in the i3th century became chief lords of
Ilkley and patrons of the church. The De Kymes were benefactors
* In an old guide to Ilkley, printed at Knaresbro' in 1829, it is stated the baths
(then the only ones) have been in charge of Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield for nine or ten
years.
f It is probably this spring that is alluded to in the /)>• /in urn Roll, yth Kdw. II.
(1314) in a complaint against Robert atte Welle, of likely, shewing that a house must
have been here six centuries ago. Vide W. Paley Baildon in Yorks. Xntrs and Queries.
204
to several of the Yorkshire Cistercian monasteries, notably Fountains,
Nun Appleton, and Sallay, and to the latter they gave lands in Ilkley.
Roesa de Kyme was wife of Peter de Percy,* to whom Henry III., in
1250 confirmed the grant of free warren for ever in all the demesne
lands of Ilkley, that is the right to keep and kill small beasts and
birds, such as hares, conies, partridges, pheasants, and some add
quails and woodcocks. Two years later, 3yth Henry III., (1252)
Ilkley was raised to the dignity of a market-town, as appears by the
following hitherto unpublished royal charter : —
GRANT OF MARKET AND FAIR AT ILKLEY.
The King to his Archbishops &c greeting-. Know ye that we have granted and by
this our charter have confirmed to our beloved und trusty Peter de Percy that he and
his heirs may have for ever a market every week on Wednesday at his manor of Illeclay
in the County of York. And that they may have a fair there every year lasting for eight
days to wit on the vigil and on the day and the morrow of St. Luke the Evangelist and
five days following. Unless such market and fair be to the hurt of ^neighbouring
markets and fairs. Wherefore we will &c with all liberties and free customs to such
market and fair belonging. These being witnesses Ralph son of Nicholas Gilbert de
Segrave, Master W de Kilkenny Archdeacon of Coventry John de Grey Robert
Wallerand William de Grey William Gernun, Robert de Norreys, Walter de
Thurkilby Ralph de Bakepuce Roger de Lokinton and others. Given by my hand at
Westminster i day of ffebruary.
How long the markets were continued at Ilkley we have no certain
knowledge, but it will be seen that the charter conveys the usual
legal phrase of permanency in that it is confirmed to the heirs of
Percy "for ever." Kirkby's Inquest shews, however, that in 1284-5
Sir Philip de Kyme, Kt, son of Simon de Kyme, by Rose, his wife,f
was declared lord of the manor of Ilkley, holding it of the heirs of
Henry de Percy, and the said Henry of the King by Knight service.
Robert de Percy then held it in sub-tenure of the said Sir Philip de
Kyme, and in 1315 the Nomina Villarum states that the Lady Percy
and the Abbots of Sallay were then joint proprietors of the manor.
The last of the Kymes was a heiress who married into the Scottish
house of Umfraville, Earls of Angus, and in 1363-4, Gilbert de
Umfraville presents to the church at Ilkley. In 1409 Agnes, daughter
and heir of Henry, son of Nicholas Ward, of Agglethorpe, in Coverdale,
and late wife of Sir Robert de Plessington, Kt, was declared to have
been seized of the manor of Ilkley for life.j Her descendants, the
Plessingtons appear to have held it for about half-a-century§ when it
came to the Mearings, and in the yth Edward VI., (1553) it was
purchased, together with all fishing rights in the river, by John
Middleton, of the family who for eight centuries have been connected
with Middleton, on the opposite side of the valley, and who retained
the Ilkley manorial rights to our own day.
* See Burton's Man. Ebor., p. 173. f Ibid, p. 278.
J Harrison's Gilling West, p. 253.
§ See Nicolas' Testamenta Vestusta (1826), p. 276; also Yorks. County Mag. (1891),
p. 272 ; also Feet of Fines,
205
I have referred to the sad havoc wrought in Wharfedale by the
invasion of the Scots. In 1297 Sir Wm. Wallace gained such a
victory over the English at Kildean Ford, near Stirling, as is hardly
parallelled in history, and with that patriotism which animates the
Highland breast throughout the world, the good northern folk have
raised a monument in his honor, which is one of the sights of
Scotland. The event is one which has a great bearing on Wharfedale
and Border history, and this sanguinary and protracted war is often
referred to in the Compotus of Bolton Abbey. The noble Wallace
Monument stands on the Abbey Craig near Stirling, the foundation-
stone having been laid on the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn
(June 24th 1861). It was a red-letter day in Scottish annals. Upwards
of 80,000 persons joined in the procession to the grand old Crag,
carrying with them the well-authenticated swords of Wallace and
Bruce, and other national relics, while the Duke of Athole, Grand
Master Mason of Scotland, performed the ceremony of laying the
stone with full masonic honors. In 1298 the English determined to
avenge their defeat and a subsidy was raised for the purpose, and the
Bolton Abbey accounts for that year shew that Ilkley contributed
26s. 8d., and Long Preston 33*. 40!. in aid of that war. The result is
matter of common history.
As a consequence of the English disaster at Bannockburn in
1314, Ilkley a few years later was invaded by the furious victors,
cattle being carried off, houses wrecked, goods stolen, and the people
left in such a pitiable plight they could not pay their accustomed rents.
The living of the church fell from £26 135. in 1290 to 26 marks, or
^17 6s. 8d. in 1318, when the Arbhbishop of York sent in his Return
to the King. It was a long time before things recovered their
wonted prosperity. In 1378 the Poll Tax returns shew there were
twenty-five married couples and eighteen single persons above the
age of sixteen living at Ilkley , while at Middleton over the water,
there were thirteen married couples and twenty-three single persons
at the same time, not a very marked difference between the two
places at that era, though what a contrast they present at the present
day! In 1378 there was but one inn at Ilkley, in all probability the
Rose and Crown, opposite the church-gates (of which I give a view
before it was rebuilt), though the Wheat Sheaf has a strong claim for
precedence, the sign being derived from the old crest of the Middletons,
a garbe or. The "Rose and Crown" was one of the badges of the
House of Lancaster, and adopted by John of Gaunt, lord of the
Honor and Forest of Knaresbro', who died in 1399, and whose
kinsman, Sir Robert de Plessington, Kt., married Agnes Ward, lady
of the manor of Ilkley, as before narrated.* An old hostelery, at
Bainbridge, in Wensleydale, which is said to have had some Norman
* See the author's Richmotulshire, p. 256.
206
traces, has borne the sign of Rose and Crown from time immemorial,
and singularly one of the twenty-five families then (1378) living at
Ilkley hailed from Bainbridge, and was the boot and shoe-maker for
all the country-side.*
In the old parchment volume at Bolton Abbey, I have before
quoted, I find that Ilkley was called upon to contribute its quota of
men to suppress the Jacobite rising in 1715 ; the names of Mr.
Reginald Heber, John Crawshaw, and Edward Bowling or John Field,
being set down as men likely to serve.
ROSE AND CROWN HOTEL, ILKLEY.
Let us now turn to the old church of the parish ; the wall
enclosing the ancient kirk-garth having, I find, been entirely pulled
down and rebuilt in 1849. At this time the Rev. Robert Collyer,
the well-known American divine, worked as a blacksmith at
Ilkley, and made the new gates for the churchyard, at a cost to
the parish of ^7 los. There was also a blacksmith's bill from
Sampson Speight for 255. 8d. ; the Speights having dwelled in this
* I do not know which is the oldest authenticated inn still existing- in Yorkshire,
but in Lancashire the sign of the Seven Stars, in Shudehill, Manchester, is proved by
the license records preserved in Lancaster Castle to have been an inn since 1350-60.
The Blue Posts, at Stockton-on-Tees, is said to date from 1485 (see also page 52).
neighbourhood and over the hill in the adjoining parish of Kildwick
from the time of the Poll Tax of A.D. 1378. [See also "Speight
I low," under BOLTON ABBEY]. The old church at Ilkley, dedicated
tu All Saints (see p. 32),* is interesting in many ways. It stands
within the old Roman castrmn, like the old church at Aldborough,
and probably on the same site successively and alternately occupied
by heathen altar and Christian temple since the days of Agricola, the
Roman vanquisher of Ilkley, eighteen centuries ago. The existence
of this building on such a site may prove an exception to the
received opinion of many authorities that the Anglo-Saxons did not
occupy the sites previously held by the Romans, but preferred to
colonize a new site ; at any rate for a long time after their first
coming. Here, where the mother church now is, undoubtedly stood
the church of her Saxon forefathers, as mentioned in the Domesday
record. What was here before is left to conjecture ; perhaps only that
trinity of beautiful preaching-crosses now in the churchyard and
bearing the mission of the evangelists, as described in the last
chapter. Or there may have been a still earlier Celtic or Roman
church similar to that discovered in 1892 within the Roman fortress
at Silchester, or like that at Aldborough, where the foundations of
the Roman basilica (doubtless afterwards a Christian temple), still
exist.
The oldest existing part of the present church is the south
doorway, unless we are to take into account the massive, even
cyclopean character of the masonry of the tower, with its diagonal
tooling, some of the stones of which are above three feet by two
feet. One I measured is nearly two feet square (or cubical, like the
masonry of the Roman Wall), and some of them are curiously marked ;
while the interior walls of the church seem to have been built of the
Norman or Early English irregular undressed stones at the rebuilding
and enlargement of the church shortly before the Reformation. But
the original church, erected on such a site and under such an
influence as I have explained, would have been of the usual Celtic
type, with square-ended presbytery at the east end and baptistery at
the west, perhaps altered into the Roman basilican form after the
preaching and reconversions of Paulinus. It must, however, have
been a very primitive building, without aisles or tower, and possessing
no architectural substance or beauty worth preserving, otherwise
some portions, particularly the doorway, would have been retained
when the church was re-erected in the time of King John. It has
been enlarged and extended eastwards, and there seems to have been
no tower until the i5th century. The principal entrance, always the
Although the church is dedicated to All Saints, Ilkley Feast is reckoned from the
Festival of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (discovered by the Roman Knij>res-.
Helena), being the first Sunday after Sept. I4th.
208
most ornate and seductive part of the church, dates from about A.D.
1200, and is of somewhat unusual construction. The arch is pointed
but there are no shafts ; the jambs and arch being formed of one
continuous plain and deeply-cut moulding of two orders, having a
corresponding double row of dog-tooth ornament. The bases are
modern, otherwise the doorway is quaintly original. In 1378 the
rectorial profits were appropriated to the Prior and Convent of
Hexham, and a vicarage was ordained.* The monks seem to
have done nothing for a long time towards improving the fabric of
the church. Having appropriated the great tithes of corn and hay,
they left the church to take care of itself, and the impoverished
parson to squabble with his parishioners over his tenth of ducks and
geese and pigeons, fruit, vegetables, &c., and even the common
nettle, then cultivated, was not despised, but paid tithe with the rest.
The nave arcade is late, and has had originally three arches,
and a fourth has recently been added eastwards. They have pointed
arches and octagonal columns, with capitals, one of which is rather
oddly moulded in a semi-Norman style. A piscina in the south aisle
marks the original extension of this aisle to the east, and it has had
an altar dedicated to St. Nicholas.! This chapel was founded by
Wm. Middleton, Esq., by will dated 1474, and endowed by him with
rents of certain tenements, &c., in Ilkley, and a cottage-residence of
the chantry-priest, the whole yielding in 1538, when it was dissolved,
an annual revenue of £4. ys. od. There is a finely-conditioned
life-size cumbent effigy, cross-legged, but in a bad position, concealed
by modem pews in a plain, low, flat-arched recess near this
piscina. The recess is quite out of keeping with the character of
the effigy, which has doubtless at one time reposed beneath a
crocketed canopy of the best period of Decorated architecture. The
effigy, as appears by the once painted arms on the shield — argent,
fretty sable, a canton of the last — represents a Middleton, clothed in
chain-mail cap-a-pie, with surcoat reaching to the feet. On his left
side is a plain cross-hilted sword, sheathed, partly broken away. The
shield is rounded and not flat. The sollerets have prick-spurs, and
the knight wears mail chausses, not with jambs or shin-plates (as
represented by Whitaker), and the knee-pieces have small escutcheons,
originally painted. The effigy is characteristic of about A.D. 1280-90,
and probably intended to commemorate Sir Peter de Middleton,
father of Sir Adam de Middleton, who according to the Compotus of
Bolton Abbey died ca. 1315.
* See. Lawton's Collections, p. 256-7 ; also Surtees Soc. Pub., xlvi., p. 147-51.
)• St. Nicholas was born at Lycia, a province in Asia Minor, and died in A.D. 342.
He was the patron of children, the original Santa Claus, gracious and kind to them, and
from his own infancy was a model of innocence and virtue. In manhood he was
Archbishop of Myra, and was one of those who attended the great Council of Nice (see
page 30). There was also a chantry dedicated to this saint at Skipton.
209
In 1830 the church was partly restored, and again in 1861 a
considerable restoration took place. The nave and aisles were then
lengthened eastwards about sixteen feet, and the chancel, with the
south wall, entirely rebuilt. The old piscina from the Middleton
Chapel was set in the south wall of the chancel, but why this was
done is not very clear. A vestry was added in 1880. In 1854 £2
IQS. was expended in painting and gilding the clock-dial. The brass
tablet at the west end of the church stating that the church was
restored in 1882 refers to the insertion of the clerestory windows and
the removal of plaster from the walls, with the addition of a new
CHURCH STREET, ILKLEY. IN 1880.
( The old Vicarage, mnv drntolished, is in front t<> the left.)
organ. The north aisle appears to be early i6th century, having
plain square-headed windows of three lights each, without foils. The
clerestory has windows only on the south side, which have square-
heads of four lights. The late alterations at the west end are
observable in the odd position of the tower-arch, which .appears at
unequal distances between the north and south walls, due to the
addition of the south aisle. The latter has plain reproductions of
Perpendicular trefoil-headed lights. At the west end of the north
aisle is a rather good specimen of Jacobean carved oak screen-work,
216
which bears the initials and date I.W. 1633. Some oak panel-work
of similar age is on the south side. There are numerous memorial
tablets and stained lights in the church. The five-light east window,
depicting the Crucifixion, was erected to the memory of Samuel
Margerison, a native of Ilkley, who died in 1858. In the Household
Book of Lord Clifford for 1510 I find an entry of 4d. expended on a
"plowe light in Ylkley." Can this have reference to a monster candle
placed on the altar of the church on Plough Monday? In some
places it was customary to ring certain bells on Plough Monday, as
well as on the occasions when country-folk were called to seed-sowing,
harvesting, &c.
In the chancel is a stained-glass insertion to the memory of
the wife of the late Rev. John Snowdon, vicar, who died in 1853,
and of Elizabeth, their eldest child, who died in 1844. In tne south
wall of the chancel is a beautiful window in memory of Joseph
Ravenscroft Elsey, who died in 1858, also of Emma, his wife, who
died in 1884, and of Jane Frances, their daughter, who died in 1886.
Also on the south side of the chancel is a stained window in memory
of Mary, daughter of the Rev. Geo. Rowley, D.D., who died in 1866.
At the east end of the south aisle is a stained window representing
the Good Samaritan, in memory of Dr. Edmund Smith, of Ilkley
Wells House, who died in 1864. The west window of the tower
(repaired in 1850) is of three beautiful lights depicting the Ascension,
&c., and dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Briggs Popplewell, of
Beacon Hill, who died in 187*. In the south aisle at the west end
near the font is a stained window representing Christ blessing little
children, and dedicated to the memory of the Rev. John Snowdon,
M.A., vicar of Ilkley for 36 years, who died in February, 1878, aged
72. At the west end of the north aisle in a well-designed window,
with brass beneath inscribed to the memory of a respected son of the
vicar, Jasper Whitfield Snowdon, historian and expositor of change-
ringing, who died in 1885, aged 41 ; the window having been erected
at the sole cost of the change-ringers of the country. Mr. Snowdon
was widely known by his published works on campanology, and he
also contributed to various magazines articles on this and kindred
subjects. He was the originator of the Ilkley Amateur Society of
Change-Ringers, and on the formation of the Yorkshire Association
of Change-Ringers in 1876 he was elected first president, a position
which he held until the day of his death.
On the walls of the chancel are eight small old brasses, crudely
engraved with inscriptions and quaint devices of arms, &c>, most of
them to members of the Heber family of Hollin Hall. They date
from 1633 to 1687. One of them is couched in terms of superfervid
piety, remarkable even for that age of religious zeal :
Here lyeth the body of Christofer Heber, second sonne to Master Reginald Heber,
who died the 8 of May, 1649, his age 26. For I am perswaded that neither death, nor
21 I
lilr, m>r angel-, nor prineipalitie--, nor powers nor thinge- present nor t hinge- (o conn-,
nor height, nor depth, nor ;in\ other creature -hall he able to separate nie from the love
o! ( iod which i-- in C'hrist Je-.ii-- our Lord.
( 'an language go further than this? On the north wall of the chancel
there are also two tiny brasses to the Hodgsons (one vicar of Ilkley
whose name is spelt Hoghon on the brass) dated 1639 and 1640.
There was formerly on the chancel floor (and since removed to the
Ilkley Museum) a palimpsest inscription on brass, the obverse
dedicated to a family named Robinson, date 1562, and the reverse
engraved in large black letter to John Reynald, prebend of Becking-
ham, Southwell Minster, 1492-4, afterwards prebend of Stillington
and Archdeacon of Cleveland 1499-1506.* In the body of the church
on the north side are several seventeenth and eighteenth century
brasses to members of the family of Joseph Watkinson, Wilfrid
Lawson, Godfrey Lawson and Edward Boiling. In the south aisle
is a tablet, indicted in Latin to the memory of William Middleton,
of Middleton Lodge, who died in 1800, in his eighteenth year. In
this aisle are memorial tablets to the families of Lister, Hauxworth,
and Beanlands, who are of long standing in Ilkley.f On the north
wall of the chancel is a marble tablet in memory of the Rev. Henry
Leathley Armitage, M.A., of Osmaston, Derbyshire, who died in
1851. Another tablet in the north aisle commemorates David
Wolryche Stansfeld, who for many years devoted himself unweariedly
to the improvement of the church and the welfare of the parish. He
died at Leamington in 1889, aged sixty-eight years. Such are the
many and various family memorials in the restored church.
Many are the simple inscriptions too, of bygone parish worthies
in the old churchyard, as well as of those who in feeble health have
come from a distance and found a last resting-place in this historic
God's acre. But happily the deaths of strangers is infinitesimal when
compared with the thousands who annually visit the spa and reap
renewed health and vigor from a sojourn amongst the grand bracing
moors. It is a common saying in the district that a walk on the
Ilkley moors is worth a bottle of the best champagne. But probably
most folk would prefer the climb to the liquor, which reminds me of
a "climbing" story told by an Ilkley lodging-house keeper who had
just received an old Scotch acquaintance for a visitor. The host
remarked at bed-time. "Now, take a wee drop more before you
go!" "Na, na," answered the Gael, "I'm in a new lodgin', ye see,
an' I'm no vera weel acquainted wi' the stairs." A very wise and
canny precaution of the Scot!
* See the Antiquary, vol. xxviii., p. 61.
f The Beanlands have resided in Ilkley from the beginning of the iyth century.
William Beanlnnds, who married Mary Stead in 1632, had a large family of sons and
daughters, who arc mentioned in the will of George Beanlands, of Ryecroft, in the
parish of Bingley. Benjamin, one of the son- ol William Beanlands, married Mary
daughter of Captain Thos. Heber. See Surtees Soc. Pub., vol. xl., p. 222.
212
Among the old churchwardens' accounts, which begin with the
year 1618, and which I have in various places quoted, there is an
interesting terrier or register of the various possessions of the church
in 1672, which I will print in full:
A TERRIER OF ALL THE GLEBE LAND, TITHES, OFFERINGS AND OTHER
ECCLESIASTICAL DUES BELONGING THE VICARAGE OR PARISH CHURCH OF ILKLEY,
IN THE DIOCESE OF YORK, DELIVERED IN AT THE VISITATION OF THE REVEREND
FATHER IN GOD, RICHARD [STERNE] BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF
YORK.
ist. A small house and g-arden adjoining-, value about two pounds and ten shillings per
annum.
2nd. A moiety or part of a farm in Netherdale. Rent five pounds and thirteen shillings.
3rd. A customary duty upon every hall of sixpence each and one penny eggs, and
upon every house of threepence each and one penny eggs, and upon every
pauper's dwelling-house of two-pence each.
Every person of the age of sixteen pay two-pence each as communicants. Two
gardens in Ilkley a penny each, and every corn-mill a composition.
4th. The tithe in kind of pigs, calves, swarms of bees, goslings, foals, rape, wool and
lamb, half-a-one at five and a whole one the second best at six, deducting in the
same proportion for what is short of ten when six or upwards, as is taken for each
under five.
6th. A small composition for hay for all lands on the south side of the river Wharfe
and for three farms on the north side thereof.
7th. The surplice dues as fees for breaking the ground in the churchyard. One
shilling offerings for each woman after child-birth. Eight pence publication of
banns of marriage. Sixpence marriage by banns, one shilling by licence. Ten
shillings mortuaries according to Act of Parliament,
As witness our hands : Wilfred Lawson,
Anno Dm. 1672. John Breary,
-T,, {Churchwardens.
1 homas Jackson,
William Holms,
Robert Falkiner, John Holms, Michael Hudson, Christopher
Hodgson, senior, Overseers for ye Poor.
The old Ilkley inhabitants were slow to overcome superstitious
scruples, and I find that so recently as 1833 a special minute is
entered in the parish accounts ordering the sexton to use his best
endeavours to persuade the relatives of deceased persons to bury the
corpse on the north side of the church. This prejudice was universal
in Yorkshire, but at Ilkley it has continued longer than at most places.
At the same time reference is made to the customory duties of the
dog-whipper, and at Ilkley he is ordered to be "decently attired on
the Sabbath Day, and to be ready to hand company to their seats in
the church according to their condition, and to preserve decency and
order during divine service in the churchyard and street adjoining."
Dogs also followed their masters and mistresses to funerals, and the
dog-whipper, who also combined the office of sexton, was ordered to
"preserve decency and order; if possible, at funerals."
But to continue the story of the local institutions. We often
find the old Grammar Schools reared out of the revenues of the
dissolved chantries, but the one at Ilkley seems to have had an
o
'
rth ;£io,ooc
•
after
have rece
The west window is ert
214
A tablet in the chancel records:
In thankfulness for manifold blessings enjoyed by the people and realm of England
during the sixty years' reign of Victoria n.d. R.I., the east window of this church was
dedicated to the glory of God — 1898.
From the churchyard there is one of the finest views in Wharfedale.
Three of the remarkable inscribed rocks, mentioned in the chapter on
the antiquities of Rumbalds Moor, are kept within the railed enclosure
on the north side of the church.
The ancient vicarage in Church Street pulled down in 1894 and
which stood on the site of the new Arcade, see page 209, was returned
in 1818 as fit for residence, but in 1834 as unfit. When the Rev. Geo.
Fenton, .curate of Ilkley, started the Ilkley Hospital in 1829, the
"CHARITY HOLE" OLD VICARAGE, ILKLEY.
parlour of the old vicarage was used as a dispensary, locally known as
the "Charity Hole." The house was not occupied by the vicars after
Mr. Fenton's time, and a new and more suitable residence was built on
the glebe land in Wells Road in 1847, when the Rev. John Snowdon was
vicar. Parson Fenton was well-known for his thorough-going, business-
like robust character, and he was also an ardent supporter of Tories
of the old school. He was to have been vicar of Otley, but that
town being decidedly Liberal, a strong local feeling was raised
against the appointment. The late Mr. Peter Garnett, of Otley, and
two others were deputed to wait on Lord Brougham, then Lord
Chancellor, who was then a guest of the Duke of Devonshire at
"5
Bolton Abbey, and their objections so far prevailed that Mr. Fenton
was appointed vicar of Roystone instead, and the living of Otley at
the express wish of the congregation was given to the Rev. Ayscough
Kawkes. Mr. Fenton was also a prime mover in various matters of
practical utility to Ilkley. He opened out the "Canker or Sore-K\>
Well" in Green Lane, had the steep gradient in Cow Pasture Road
much reduced, and was generally active in seeing the place improved
and beautified with planting.
On 'the north-west side of the church stands the substantial old
manor-house, now known as the "Castle." It is a rather good
example of a "strong" domestic house of the Tudor period consisting
of a centre with wings, having pointed doorways and transomed-
mullion windows. The upper rooms are not ceiled, and there are no
cellars. Here in the old days the courts of the manor were held and
many a scene of importance and picturesque bustle must the old
house have witnessed in other times. It is now let off in cottages.
The Nonconformists are a numerous body in Ilkley, though
none of the denominations except the Society of Friends, may be
said to be of ancient standing in the town. The Friends have a
small but well-built Meeting House in Queen's Road. The Wesleyans
have been established here for the best part of a century and have
a beautiful and commodious chapel, with schools &c., erected in 1869
in Wells Road. They have also a new chapel at Ben Rhydding.
In 1829 they met for worship in a room of the house of Mr. Wm.
Bell, grocer, Brook Street. The Congregationalists have a large and
handsome place of worship in the Grove, erected at a cost of about
j^ 5,000. It was opened in 1869. It is in the Decorated Gothic
style, with spire 130 feet high, and on the south side is an excellent
lecture-hall, with class-rooms &c. The Primitive Methodists have a
chapel in the Leeds road, erected in 1878 at a cost of about ^2,000.
The Baptists have also recently started a mission here. The Roman
Catholics who had long held their services in the chapel attached to
Middleton Lodge, built in 1879 a new and more convenient place of
worship near the Middleton Hotel. The chancel is apsidal in the
manner of the early Latin churches. Ilkley also possesses a Roman
Catholic College, established in 1894 on the foundation of the old St.
Paulinus' Academy at Catterick, which for many years was carried on
by Mr. T. Skelton. There are also good Church National Schools
and a number of excellent private schools, where pupils are prepared
for the University and other courses.
Ilkley also possesses an excellent Museum, as might be expected
in a place overflowing with historic interest. An account of its
principal treasures written by Mr. Wm. Cudworth, the well-known
Bradford archaeologist, appears in the Reliquary, for 1898. Among
the various Roman objects to be seen is a somewhat rare example of
a triple- vase, consisting of three conjoined receptacles having connected
2l6
holes inside. There is also part of a Roman sepulchral monument,
inscribed : D.M. PVDE JESSEI LEG n A., and another Roman grave-slab
found in 1884 near the Rose and Crown hotel, which bears the design
of a female figure seated, and an imperfect inscription beneath. Mr.
Watkin reads it as follows : DIS MANIBUS VK . . . ic . . .
NCONIS FILIA ANNORVM. xxx. ccoRNOviA H.s.E. [To the divine shades
of .... daughter of .... thirty years of age, a Cornovian citizen.
Here she is laid.] According to Mr. Watkin this stone possesses a
unique value, inasmuch as it is the only inscription to a Cornovian
citizen which has been found in Roman Britain.* The stone
measures 6 feet 2 inches by 2 feet 9 inches (see plate). There is an
ILKLEY MUSEUM.
interesting collection of Roman coins presented or lent by Mr. W.
Mitton, ot Ilkley, Mr. J. Lister, of Rockwood House, Mr. John
Lambert, of Leeds, the proprietors of the Ilkley Free Press, and
others. Likewise a large collection of querns of various ages, stone
mortars, and Roman millstones, including specimens of the grooved
type in volcanic material imported from Italy.
The Ilkley Hospital and Convalescent Home, established in
1829 as the Ilkley Bath Charity, had a permanent building erected
in the Grove in 1861, and this was the first convalescent hospital
erected in Yorkshire.! There is also the Semon Convalescent Home,
founded in 1874 by the late Mr. Charles Semon, a Bradford merchant,
* Royal Archaeological Journal, vol. xlii., p. 153.
f See Mr. Cudworth's History oftJte Home (1893).
- i 7
and sonic time mayor of that city. Both arc admirable institutions,
doing a noble service and deserving of the best encouragement and
support. They are large and airy buildings, under excellent
management, and their design and sanitation leave nothing to be
desired. In spite of the rapid development of Ilkley in recent years,
and the consequent increase in the number of buildings, the local
authorities have looked well after sanitary affairs, and it is satisfactory
to know that the Medical Officer of Health for the West Riding has
repeatedly been able to state that Ilkley enjoys the lowest death-rate
of any locality within his jurisdiction. There are now (1900) close
OLD HOUSE IN GREEN LANE. ILKLEY.
upon 1,500 inhabited houses (an increase of 500 since 1891) and the
rateable value amounts to ^44,800. Despite this large increase in
building and population, the health of the district has greatly
improved. During the five years, 1874-8, the average death-rate was
16-3 per 1000, whereas in the five years, 1894-8, the average
mortality (including deaths of visitors) was i2~g, which will compare
with the most favored towns and watering-places in England.
Betore the railway to Ilkley was opened in 1865 (August ist)
the coaches ran into the town daily to and from Leeds and Bradford.
The Wharfedale Bee. the Ilkley Defiance, the Eclipse, and the Hark
2l8
Forward were the busy and pushing names by which these rival
vehicles were known in the old days, vying and competing with each
other for the public patronage. The Hark Foward, a Leeds coach,
came to grief in the autumn of 1832 soon after it had left the Rose
and Crown hotel at Ilkley. The driver was tightening the reins in
turning a corner, and he himself seems to have been a bit " tight,''
when the heavily-passengered vehicle was upset and one aged female,
named Hannah Allerton, of Parsley, was killed , others were more or
less injured. Soon afterwards the Commerce took its place, and in
two years (1835) this again was succeeded by the British Queen,
which ran between Leeds and Ilkley, through Kirkstall, Yeadon,
Guiseley, Menston, and Burley, taking two hours each way.* I find
in the Ilkley churchwardens' accounts for 1833, that the sexton had
to attend to the clock in the church tower and keep it to the post-
time once a week.
Less than forty years has made a wonderful transformation in
the aspects of the old place. When the old Sedbergh Grammar
School lands, in the vicinity of the railway-station, were sold by the
late Mr. Edward Hirst Wade, the subsequent recent erections
completely changed the appearance of this important part of the
town. Ilkley is practically a modern town now, and there are very
few of the old landmarks remaining. The old Green Lane (now the
Grove) is completely lost. Here stood, on what is now the site of
Mr. Hargreaves' shop, what was commonly spoken of as the Manor
House, and where I am told, the Court Leets were held, but there is
little doubt from its proximity to the church that the courts-baron
and other of the lords' business would be held for convenience in the
"Old Castle." The manor-house, strictly speaking, was Myddelton
Lodge. The picturesque old thatch in the Grove (see plate) was at
one time a favorite resort of Madame Tussaud, of wax-work celebrity.
The ground about it was quite open, and it had a pretty garden at
one end, where a few nice roses used to, be grown. About seventy
years ago it was the Ilkley post-office, kept by Thomas Stephenson.
The office was afterwards removed to the White House on the
Addingham road, kept by Vickers, and from there it was transferred
to the Leeds road, in what is now Walmsley's shop, opposite Weston
Road end. From there it was taken to the top of Brook Street.
Then there was another interesting old thatch, well-known in its
day as "Mother Downe's Cottage," of which I am privileged to give
a full-page view reproduced from a very scarce original in the
possession of Mr. Win. Brumfitt. This old house stood in Wells
Road, where the Royal Hotel has since been built. A century ago
there was also in this locality a small cotton-mill, and old Mr.
Hezekiah Dobson told me that his father, who was born in 1785,
* The reader is referred to Mr. Tom Bradley's Coaching Days in Yorkshire for a
very full account of the numerous coaches formerly on the roads.
•""-
*•-
22O
worked in it as a lad. The mill was afterwards converted into
cottages and eventually pulled down when the Wells House stables
were built.
There was as I have already observed, hardly a slated house to
be seen. Mr. Alfred Austin, the Poet Laureate, whom Yorkshire is
proud to claim as one of her worthiest dalesmen, used often when a
boy to turn his pony's head in the direction of Ilkley and the
charming woods of Bolton, which he has commemorated in his well-
known "Human Tragedy." Born within two hours' gentle ride of
the then primitive village, many a time has he stayed at the old
thatched cottage which stood opposite Butterfield's antique dwelling
at Middleton road end. The cottage was, I believe, at that time
kept by a Mrs. Senior, but was long ago pulled down. It had a nice
little parlour and ample kitchen, where oatmeal cakes were hung
astride the wires stretched along its time-stained rafters, and its
quaint diamond-paned windows looked out upon a bit of garden half-
wild with roses, daisies, sweet-thyme and the old-fashioned lavender.
The Laureate has said that upon the well-remembered occasions of
these early visits to the quiet old moorland village he in all
probability first learned to sing ; listening as he was wont to the
silvery-toned becks that now hurried, now loitered down what seemed
to childish eyes its steep hill-side. A little rivulet then zigzagged
with many a pleasant sound, down the main street (as shewn in the
picture prefacing this chapter), until its little energy was spent in the
greater tide of the river below. Although these familiar sights and
sounds are gone, the prejudices born of the tender reminiscences of
childhood are not easily eradicated, and memories whose happiness
gains in the retrospect cannot avoid being tinged with some remorse
at the many changes that have taken place. But the man who rails
against progress, even of the mere material sort, seems really to quarrel
with the divine dispensation in any attempt to allay those natural
aspirations that incite humanity to better its condition.
When the railway was brought in 1864-5, the resident population
did not much exceed 1,000 persons. It is now about 7,000, and this
number is probably quite doubled by resident visitors in the summer
season, while the number of day-visitors cannot be far short of
200,000 in the course of twelve months. These are largely drawn
from the populous city of Bradford and neighbourhood, who, glad to
escape from the dust and environment of crowded streets, frequently
take the familiar walk over the high bracing moors from Saltaire
and Bingley. A notable step for the public weal in the future was
made by the Ilkley Local Board in 1892, when the whole manorial
rights over Ilkley Moor, Hollin Hall Moor, Heber's Ghyll and the
Panorama Rocks, were purchased from Mr. C. W. Middleton, lord of
the manor. This important purchase by the local authorities has
practically given to the public the right of access to upwards of 2000
221
acres of fine moorland and woodland, with all rights of water on the
moors and other privileges, a boon of priceless value as the need for
open spaces increases. There has been for some time a desire to
raise the general status of the town by the erection of Public Offices,
and at a meeting of the District Council held October 4th 1899,
it was resolved that steps be taken to carry the proposal into effect.
The buildings are to include provision for a museum and free library,
on a plot of land purchased for the purpose in Station Road. The
total cost will probably reach £8,000 to ;£ 10,000.
The large hydro's, hotels, and numerous lodging-houses are
very often full in the summer. The admirably situated hydro's
erected on the skirts of the moor are amongst the largest and
handsomest buildings of the kind in the kingdom. The extensive
CM iblishment at Ben Rhydding, opened in 1844, has the reputation
of being the first hydropathic hotel erected in Great Britain.* Near
here was the ancient and original village of Wheatley, whose houses
were until quite recent times mostly single-deckers covered with ling-
thatches. Some foundations of thick-walled housesteads have also
been removed from the vicinity, and these may possibly have been of
prehistoric age. The place gave name to an ancient family, of
which Hugo de Whetelay was rector of Leathley in 1302, and the
name also appears in the 1378 poll-tax for Burley and Killinghall.
Little remains now save the old Hall, a roomy lyth century building
having a north and south aspect, close to the south side of the Ben
Rhydding railway station. There are two transomed mullion windows
on the south side, and the principal doorway has simple moulded
jambs and a plain, heavy lintel, bearing no indications of initials or
date. It is, however, very probable that the house was built by the
Boilings, who were property owners in Ilkley in the 15111 century, and
long resident in the district. Mrs. Ann Boiling, widow of John
Boiling, who died in 1730, and to whom there is an inaccurately-dated
memorial in the Bradford Parish Church, held the property, and at
her death in 1772 it was left to her relative Wm. Boiling, of Ilkley.
At this time Wheatley Hall was in the occupation of his kinsfolk,
the Ellis family, who afterwards removed to Hollin Hall. William
Boiling, in conjunction with his brother Edward, was in the tobacco
business in Ilkley, which he appears to have given up on the death
of Edward in 1760. He married a daughter of the Rev. Thomas
* Dr. Collyer writes that when Ben Rhydding was building in 1846 and the
founders were casting about for a name, the matter came up for discussion one evening
in the " Pint-Pot Parliament," which had sat at the If/nut Sheaf in Ilkley time out of
mind. Mr. Hamer Stansfeld (the founder) wanted a "good and ancient name," and
was particularly wishful to know what the upland was called in the old times on which
Ben Rhydding is built. Nancy Wharton, our hostess, said she knew, and gave us the
name Ben (not Bean) Rydding. It had passed out of the common memory, but had
survived by some good hap in Nancy's mind, and it was from this little seed the name
sprang again whirh has became famous.
223
Lister, vic.ir of Ilkley, b\ whom he had a large family, and on his
death in 1832, aged eighty-six, the Wheatley estate was left to his
two sons, William and Lister Boiling, who were then living at the
Hall and both of whom died unmarried. The property was inherited
by their kindred the Margerisons, of whom Richard Margerison, of
Manninghan, son of John of Ilkley, yeoman, married Phoebe, daughter
of John Boiling, and died in 1851. The old homestead for a long
time has been tenanted as a farm, and was purchased about three
years ago of the Margerisons by Mr. John Beanlands, of Ilkley.
Mr. John Mawson and Mr. Christopher Thornton were tenants for
many years, and latterly Mr. Joseph Cook rented the house and
farm.
I remember calling at the house some time ago when the good
woman who was in charge kindly shewed me over the premises. I
asked if any tradition or event of importance was attached to the old
house, when she replied, "O, yes, Oliver Cromwell has slept here one
night." "Ah"! I answered, "I suppose that would be before the
great tight on Marston Moor"? "No, no," she quickly replied, "it
was the night before he blew up Bolton Abbey"!
CHAPTER XV.
RUMBALDS MOOR : ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES AND ANTIQUITIES.
Unrivalled attractions of Rumbalds Moor — Meaning- of its name — St. Rumold, a
Christian martyr — View from the top of the Moor — Local geology — Glacial
evidences — Curious rocks and traditions— Advent of man— Original Goidelic
settlement — "Cow and Calf" rocks — Marked stones and circles —Their universal
dispersion — Local workers — Descriptive list of antiquities on the Moor — Theories
and ideas respecting them — Symbols of time &c. — Evolution of the Sun-Snake
The doctrine of the ascending spirit — The marked stones, the basis of Ilkley's
existence — Necessity for their careful preservation — Projected military encampment
on the Moor — An unrivalled playground.
HAT wide and noble expanse of rugged moorland
which rises above Ilkley, with its life-giving breezes,
pleasant walks and memories of primeval occupation
possesses, as I have before remarked, an almost
unrivalled interest. To write fully of its wonderfully-
formed rocks and hanging-cliffs, abundant remains of the glacial
epoch, its story of the first footsteps of man in Wharfedale, its
Celtic fairy-lore, the many mystic-marked stones, with all their
strange traditions — augurs of a happier faith ; — the passing of the
Roman, the Angle and Dane along its crested steeps, the camps,
cairns, and rude stone-circles , its mediaeval history down through
the stirring episodes of the great Civil War, even to the recent
period of those hapless sprites, Wise Robin of Rumbalds Moor and
the old hermit, Job Senior, who chose this solitude against all
others ; not to mention all that might be said of its natural history
productions, the birds and butterflies, flowers and mosses and
reindeer-lichens, would forsooth make the story of this grand old
moor a tome in itself.
Many have been the conjectures respecting the origin and
meaning of its name. In old documents it is variously spelled
Rumbles, Rummells, Romalls, with variants of a single or double
m, also Rumolds, Rumbalds, Rombalds, sometimes the first syllable
with o, sometimes u. There are at least a score different spellings
of the name. Many are of opinion that it is derived from the first
Norman owner of the great lordship of Skipton, Robert de Romille,
and that the correct spelling should be Romille's Moor. But my
impression is that the name goes back long anterior to the Conquest,
and that the local pronunciation which the moor has borne from
time immemorial has been Rumbalds or Rumbles Moor, the latter a
225
possible contraction or corruption of Rumbalds or Rumolds. In the
Skipton Parish Registers I find these entries :
1621, August 3 Matthew Brigge of RUMBLBSMOOR, buried
1644, Feb. 9 John hargraves, a snuldier slayne on tin- top ot Ri MLKYSMORE.
1665, July 22 William \Vade \vlio lived att London, i-omeing to see his Father,
Anthony Wade, dyed on Rt MKU.SMOKI:, a-> it was suppled <m the Plauge,
Therefere buried there.
The latter by the way is an interesting note on the great Plague,
when all who were able fled from the stricken city, and thousands
of bodies were weekly given over to the dead-cart and pest-house in
that terrible year, 1665.
Whether the family name of Romille or Rumbold be at the
root of its meaning,* or what may be the true explanation, will
probably never be known. Perhaps I might suggest that the
moor, with its abundant ante-Norman remains, was as elsewhere
explained, in the heart of Christian Elmete, and that after the first
coming of the pagan Danes, the Anglo-British Christians fled to
this wild solitude, and dedicated the moor for all time to the martyr
St. Rumold (A.D. 775), who embraced, like the British Christians
of old, voluntary poverty, and who, though he was ordained Bishop,
frequently withdrew frum the vanities of the world to renew his
spirit before God in pensive solitude. This aloofness from the
world was but the expression of the monastic spirit of the age
which had first taken root at Lindisfarne. It was on lonely
Lindisfarne (long the chief citadel of Christian piety in the north),
that the pagan Vikings fell in 793 ; Jarrow yielded to them next
year, and all Northumbria seemed likely to fall into their hands.
The great collapse however, did not take place until seventy years
afterwards, when all Yorkshire was harried, and save in the least
accessible places, Christianity ceased to exist with all its visible
belongings. At this time, too (A.D. 870), the steadfast Archbishop
of the extensive Province of York was flung into exile on the skirts
of Rumbalds Moor, by the pagan Danes, as we learn from Simeon
of Durham. Though it seems much more probable that Archbishop
Wulfhere had escaped from the Danish massacres with numbers of
others, and had found a strong refuge among the Christians centred
about Rumbalds Moor.
The fame of the pious Rumold was not allowed to slumber, and
in North Yorkshire, the conjectured boundary of Prof. Green's
kingdom of Elmete, the ancient church at Romaldkirk (in Domes-
day spelled Rumoldescherce) is dedicated to St. Rumold. In Celtic
Ireland especially was his greatness celebrated, and every first of
July his anniversary was kept in the capital Province of Dublin with
much ceremony. In the eighteenth century his festival became
• See "Notes <>n the History ot the family of Kurnold in the 17111 Century" in
f i\i us. f\<n-. Hist. .W. X.S. Vol. VI. pp. i45-H\v
226
general in that country, and though not observed here, there is little
doubt but that in earlier ages St. Rumold would be commemorated
by the Christians of Deira, as in other places.* It was to Mechlin, ,
in Germany, that his relics were taken for ultimate preservation in
the grand church there raised in his honour.
Let us now climb the rugged brow, and up beside the old White
House on the moor edge, a familiar landmark since our childhood's
days. Higher still we climb until above the beetling crags we feel
the fresh breezes sweep over the boundless tracts of heather. The
air perchance is filled with sunlight and we have to screen our eyes
to enjoy the vast and lovely expanse of country that opens around
VIEW OF ILKLEY FROM PANORAMA WOODS.
us. Far away to the east we scan the hills that bound the great
vale of York, with the twin towers of the Minster just visible. With
Doubtless the celebrations would have been kept up here and in Wharfedale, had
not the Romish influence of Wilfrid proved too strong- for the Celtic priesthood and
ritual to continue. The synod of Whitby in 664, though its effect was not felt among
the Celtic Christians of our western Yorkshire for a long period, prevailed in the end.
It was the cause of a severance between the English and Irish Churches, the consequences
of which has survived even to our own day. St. Wilfrid sowed the seed of destruction
in Wharfedale, and those three Romish sculptured crosses in Celtic Ilkley, elsewhere
spoken of, remain contemporary memorials of this great Christian separation.
tin1 aid of a field-glass the distant range of the Hambletons reaching
almost to C'rathorne on the Durham honlerland, may even be descried
forty miles awa\ ! Looking northwards and westwards beautiful
\Vharfedale fills the intermediate prospect that is bounded by the
classic heights of Rylstone and Cracoe Fells, while the old Armada
beacon-cones of Flasby Fell, with distant Whernside and flat-topped
mighty Ingleborough loom far away on the pale horizon. Climbing
to the very summit of the ridge (1323 feet) the prospect westwards
over the valley of the Aire is not so interesting nor so wide, some of
the Lancashire border hills including legendary Pendle, being the
most prominent features. There is a lovely peep over the valley,
with the winding river and spreading to\\n, from the Panorama
Woods, shewn in the accompanying picture. It is from a beautifully
clear photograph taken by Mr. Joseph Pollard, a local amateur,
whose lantern lectures from his own views have delighted many
audiences at Ilkley and elsewhere.
Wandering with an inquisitive eye among the crags and huge
tumbled stones of this grand moor, I have sometimes been asked by
strangers to the district if these rocks are granite. The dark,
weathered, and compact masses, with their partly granitic constituents,
may easily deceive the uninitiated, and the keen but uninstructed
vision of Charlotte Bronte mistook these rocks in like manner for
granite. But there is no true granite in Yorkshire, save what may
have been imported by the agency of glaciers in the far-off Ice Age.
The surface structure of our county was built up long, long after such
plutonic deep-seated, and non-fossiliferous matter as granite was
formed. The following little table will shew our position in the
geological age, beginning with the interior of the earth :
Feet approximately Feet approximately
Primary Unascertained CARBONIFEROUS 10,000
Cumbrian 10,000 Saliferous 2,000
Cambrian 20,000 Oolite and I.ia- 2,^00
Silurian 7i5°° \\Caldcn 1,000
Upper and Lower Cretaceous 1,100
Old Red Sandstone 10,000 Tertiary (most recent) 2,000
Nearly the whole of West Yorkshire is comprised within the Carboni-
ferous group, which consists of mountain-limestone (the lowest)
millstone-grit, with shales and sandstones, and the coal measures.
When I say that the neighbourhood of Ilkley is on the millstone-grit,
it will be seen at once where we stand in point of geological antiquity.
To the student of the millstone-grit group of rocks, Ilkley forms a
very convenient centre, as within a very few miles, the whole series,
from the Kinderscout Grit (the lowest) to the Rough Rock on the
summit of Rumbalds Moor, may be examined and studied.
In walking towards the Panorama Rocks or to the well-known
"Cow and Calf," it will be observed that the hill-side is broken into
escarpments of varying height and extent. Each ascent is composed
228
of hard beds of rock, while the intervening level spaces mark where
the softer shale has been denuded away. The process of denudation
is still going on, widening the spaces, and which in course of time
has also widened and shaped the valley as we now see it. Probably
the greater portion of the scattered rocks which now lie thickly and
in all sorts of positions on the hill-sides, have been dislodged and
dropped into their present places, during the closing rigours of the Ice
Age, when the violent alternations of heat and frost, acting along
natural joints and fissures in the strata, burst it asunder and caused
masses to fall in. In this epoch of more equable temperature the
effects of rain and sun and frost in such places are scarcely
THE "Cow AND CALF" ILKLEY.
perceptible. Some of the gritstones have no doubt been dropped in
their present positions by the movement and break-up of the glacier,
as amongst them in places may be found blocks of calliard where no
such stone is in situ.*
* Mr. Edward Sewell, M.A., F.R.G.S., accounts for the tumbled rocks on the
moor sides above Ilkley as due partly to " the action of the sea (when Rumbalds Moor
was partly submerged) first undermining the cliffs, then carrying the blocks down-hill,
and lastly placing them or piling them up in their present positions ;" likewise "the
action of coast-ice during the glacial period, which must have been adequate to detach,
launch, and desperse blocks on a large scale on a sea-coast such as the north-east
escarment of Rumbalds Moor must have formed."
229
Man) uf the rucks have been broken up for making the roads
and other purposes in recent times. The largest and most notable
of these was a monster slipped-boulder which stood near the road
below the "Cow and Calf." It was as large as an ordinary cottage
and was known as the "Bull Rock." To the regret of many it was
destroyed. Old people tell me that these isolated rocks have borne the
names of Bull and Cow and Calf time out of memory, but no legend
is known to attach to them. I have sought through the traditions of
Celtic and Teutonic fairy-lore to account for their names, and have
only met with the following possibly parallel case : —
Several centuries since, a family residing on Durzy Island, off Bantry Bay, found a
beautiful little coal-black bull and cow on a verdant spot near the beach. The cow
furnished sufficient butter and milk for all domestic wants, and next year a calf was
added to the number. When this youngster was come to the age of affording- additional
support to the family, a wicked servant girl, one day milking the parent cow, so far
forgot herself as to strike the gentle beast witli the spancel and curse her bitterly. The
outraged animal turned round to the other two, who were grazing at some distance,
and lowed to them in a sorrowful tone, and immediately the three moved rapidly off to
the sea. They plunged in and forthwith the three rocks, since known as the Bull, Cow,
and Calf arose, and continue to this day to protest against the wickedness and ingratitude
of cross-grained servant-girls.*
Story and tradition cluster round these old time-stained
Wharfedale land-marks, which if they had but tongues could reveal
to us many a tale of those whom they have sheltered in centuries
long past and of riddles to the antiquary still unsolved !
But if these stones are speechless, the sculptures upon them are
pregnant with meaning, and are evidence of a strange people who
once dwelt here, and who witnessed, perhaps, the last reign of the
great Ice King ! This may be so, yet I think the many strange
marked stones exhibit to us the presence of a settled community
rather than that of a nomadic tribe who followed the retreat of the
ice northward with their herds of reindeer. There can however, be
no doubt from what I have already said that these moorland and
rocky solitudes above Ilkley harboured the first refugees of the great
Celtic immigration. Whether they actually sheltered the primitive
pigmies that are now known to have inhabited the caves of Western
Europe, (doubtless the stunted beings of the Ice Age),f and from
* Kennedy's legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts, p. 1 10.
f The "Midden Men" of Hastings, described by Mr. \V. J. Lewis Abbott, F.G.S.,
in "Primeval Refuse Heaps at Hastings" (vide Natural Science for July and August,
1897) seem to have been similar diminutive post-glacial nomads, using no cereals,
carrying no querns or mealers, and ignorant of polishing flint and of barbing arrows.
They had no human enemies to contend with, and no kind of offensive or heavy weapons
accompany these interesting remains. The primitive lake-dwellers of Yorkshire may
also have been of like antiquity, though it seems more probable from the discoveries
made near Pickering and at Ulrome that they belonged to the later Stone or Bronze
Age, The human remains found, however, shew them to have been dwarfs. Herodotus
(400 B.C.) the earliest Greek historian mentions the Lake Dwellers as his contemporaries.
This was in thr Bronze Age.
230
whom sprung the traditions of our dwarfs and fairies, there is at
least one fragment of local evidence to offer. Under the famous
Hanging Stone, with its mystic "cup and ring" sculptures, the rock
is hollowed out forming a deep overhanging cavity, and I am told
that this ancient rock-shelter has been known from time immemorial
as "Fairies' Kirk," and traditions of its having been tenanted by those
tiny sprites, the fairies, still exist among old people in the
neighbourhood. When the Saxons established themselves at Ilkley
they were going to build a church up here, but the fairies strongly
resented. They would have none of it, and so their little temple was
erected in the vale below. The fairies distrust any intrusion upon
their own sacred places, and is it not Sir Walter Scott who relates how
somebody long ago was going to erect a church at Deer, when the
fairies with one voice cried out : —
"It is not here, it is not here,
That ye shall build the Kirk o' Deer,
But on Taptillerie
Where many a grave shall be"?
I cannot go into all the details I have heard of the antics of these
mysterious little people here and in the neighbouring gills;* it is
sufficient to note the survival of an interesting and eminently Celtic
tradition. I have already broached an opinion on the situation of the
ol-y-ceann of the Britons, the Olicana of the Latins, and the beetling
rocky headlands terminating in the fortress-like "Cow and Calf," are
just the kind of place we might expect to be occupied during the
Brigantian epoch, when the valley was a forest-fringed swamp, with
its exhaling mists. The "Cow" which I find was called in 1807
"Inglestone Cow," a name now quite forgotten, bears no mean
resemblance to a castle, while the "Calf" may be likened to a keep,
the two rocks having possibly been united by a wall or bulwark of
turf and stones forming a secure and chief enclosure. The "Cow,"
as it now stands, is I should say the largest detached block of stone
in England, measuring eighty feet long, about thirty-six feet wide and
upwards of fifty feet in height. From one point of view it presents,
like the jutting face of Kilnsey Crag, as seen from the north side,
the appearance of a huge sphinx, which may be intentional, or it may
be natural, probably the latter. The face of the rock bears a
depression that looks like a human foot, and the local tradition
concerning it is that the genius of the moors, a certain giant Rumbald,
was stepping from Almias Cliff on the opposite side of the valley, to
this great rock, but miscalculating its height his foot slipped, leaving
the impression we now see. Both the "Cow" and the "Calf" have
cups and channels on their surfaces, which were conjectured by
- In ancient Celtic territory, above Middleton Lodge, is a deep ravine, which so
far as I can make out has always been known as Fairy Dell. The fairies had a strong1
dislike not alone- to Christian Churches, but also to holy wells. See remarks on Our
Lady's Well near Grassington Bridge.
231
Mi-sM's. Konvst and OrainiM' in [869 to !•<• connected with Druidical
priestcraft, and that their purpose- was "to retain and distribute the
liquid furl whirh fed the sacred flame on grand festivals of the year."
Borlase in his Natural History <>/' Comical/ refers to similar cup-
sculptures, on rocks known as Karn Letkys, or the Cairn of Burnings.
But whether they have any connection with the Druids is very
questionable. Mr. Worth maintains to the contrary and holds that
so far as Devonshire and indeed all the West of England are
concerned, neither history nor tradition, nor folk-lore, nor archaeology,
afford the slightest trace of Druidic existence, whether in the sense of
( '.rsar and Pliny, of the Welsh bards, or of the constructive ideal of
Borlase and Pohvhele.* The same may also be affirmed of our
so-called "Druids' Circles," — those rude stone erections in isolated
places sung of by Ossian and the ancient bards, but in no sense
hinting at any Druidical connection. See however note to Simon Seat.
The Ilkley and adjacent moors, as I have said, abound with
such remains. The marked stones, cairns, and circles, are certainly
more numerous in this locality than in any spot of equal area in
Britain. Consisting of shallow cup-like depressions connected by
channels with larger rock basins, or entirely separate and enclosed
with concentric rings, the "cup and ring" markings have excited
wonder and stimulated interest in the beholder far beyond our own
realms. No one now doubts their purely artificial origin, for they
have been observed on rocks in every one of the four divisions of
the home dominions, in the Isle of Man and in the Channel Islands,
likewise in France, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. In North and
South America they are also met with, and in parts of Asia and
Africa, as well as in Fiji and other islands of the South Pacific.
They are especially numerous in the East, and a very large number
bearing the peculiar cup and ring incisions have been found in Moab.f
But in no part of the world has anything been discovered with the
peculiar cups and ladder-like markings on the rocks, now laid within
an enclosure before St. Margaret's Church at Ilkley, and to which I
shall presently refer.J
It is little more than thirty years ago the Ilkley stones were
discovered. They seem to have been first observed by a Mr. Terry,
while on a visit to Ben Rhydding in 1X67. But this is disputed, as
in the same year Mr. Chas. Forrest, of Loft house, visited them and
soon afterwards published his little book which contains the first
* Trans, of the Dii'nnshirc v/.vwr., xii., 228-42.
f See Mnah'x Patriarchal Stii/trx, by the Rev. Jas. King-.
+ Small cups with three or more concentric ring's connected with perpendicular, not
hori/ontal or ladder-like grooves, have been found engraved on bron/e ring's, brooches,
and other objects of personal adornment found among- the remains of the primitive Lake
Dwelling's in Switzerland and other places on the Continent, of a date approximately
300 to 1000 years B.C. See also Shaw's liarbary (1757) where is an illustration of a
Mosaic pavement of the time of Alexander, shewing cup and ring marks.
232
published reference to them. There soon followed in 1869 Mr. Jas.
Wardell's Historical Notices of these Moors describing the camps and
cairns and the "Cow and Calf" markings, stating that they were the
only ones of their kind yet discovered in this neighbourhood. But
further examination soon brought others to light, and nowhere so
abundantly as in the proximity of Ilkley. From some of them much
DR. THOMAS J. CALL.
peat had to be removed. No one, I may say, took greater interest
in these discoveries than the late Dr. Thomas J. Call, who was medical
officer to the Ilkley Hospital, and who died in 1883. Dr. Call was
in fact one of the first, if not the first practical archaeologist who
called public attention to them, though so far as I can make out,
233
none of his writings an- dated.* He discovered some of the stones
himself, and at various times made sketches and took rubbings of
.several of the more important sculptures, several of which are of
espeeial value at this time as the original stones from which they were
drawn have been broken up or despoiled. These records of Dr.
Call's usefulness are now preserved in the Ilkley Museum. Twenty
years ago Mr. Frederick W. Fison, M.P., rendered valuable service
by uncovering and carefully noting some of the marked stones, and
he with Dr. Call, was, I believe, the first to introduce them to the
notice of Mr. J. Romilly Allen, whose important work and writings on'
the Ilkley stones are now well known. Others, as for example the
late Mr. John Holmes, of Roundhay, Mr. Win. Cudworth, of Bradford,
and various members of local societies, have been scarcely less
indefatigable in their efforts to note, photograph, and elucidate the
mystery of these inscribed rocks. Mr. T. C. Gill, the Ilkley District
Council's moor-keeper, has also taken great interest in the work of
their discovery and preservation, and at Silverwell Farm he has a
fine collection of flints and other relics obtained while ranging the
moor. Having had the benefit of Mr. Gill's guidance on several
occasions, I have noted, I believe, in the following table every known
antiquity on this unrivalled ground: —
LlST OF Ru.MBALDS MOOR ANTIQUITIES,
i. Cow and Calf, basin, cup, and channel marked. Described above. Some think
the "basins" are due to natural weathering. I have heard it said the "Calf" (ell
from the " Cow" during a terrific storm about a century ago, but this is extremely
doubtful. Anciently the Cow was known as the Inglcstonc.
J. Hanging Stone (west of Cow and Calf), cup and ring- marked. Some vandal has
been imitating the primeval sculptures by chiselling on the same stone, but the
freshness of the recent work is at once seen. It is to be regretted that quarrying-
ha- been permitted to get so near this exceedingly valuable monument of antiquity,
a relic which, as the ages roll on, must gather an ever-deepening- interest. The
sculptures are figured in Forrest and Gramme's Kiimlialiis Moor (Part iii). Under
it is the equally interesting
3. Fairies Kirk, described above.
4. On the slope of the hill below the Fairies Kirk and also below the "Cow and Calf"
are several deep entrenchments that have the appearance of Prehistoric Dykes.
Whether these have afforded cover to the ancient settlements on the heights above
I am not prepared to say, but it is certain they have been cart-roads to quarries in
former times, the old ruts being- still visible.
5. A few hundred yards directly south of the "Cow and Calf" is the Pancake Ridge
and well-known curious Pancake Rock, bearing cup-marks.
o. About 200 yards west of the last named is a very large, solitary boulder, almost as
large as a cottage. It has a coped top like the roof of a house. On the north slope
of the top are a number of cup-shaped hollows. Described by Mr. Allen in Jourl.
lirit. Arch. Assoc., vol. 3^. p. 19.
7. Going in the direction of Green Crag- (1118 feet), a grassy slope extending- east and
west, a little south of the last named, are some extensive ancient enclosures. The
ramparts of turf and stone, occupy three sides of a rectangle, the north, east, and
Mr. Romilly Allen holds Dr. Call to be the first discoverer in 1866. See No. 300
of "Local Notes and (Queries" in the Leeds Merciuy Supplement, Also 301-3.
234
west, while the south is commanded by the elevated slope of Green Crag-. This
portion shews that the ground above must have been strongly occupied by the same
people who held the enclosures, I should say they are in all probability enclosures
tor cattle, thrown up with a stockade by the Romani/.ed Celts on the Anglo-Saxon
irruption. Mr. Gill tells me that nothing to his knowledge has ever been found on
the site. See also Arctueologia, vol. xxxi.
8. A short distance to K. of these enclosures is, on Green Crag* a unique sculptured
stone, the surface being almost level with the ground. It is about three feet by
thirty inches in its greatest measurement, and has incised upon it a line of seven
cups enclosed within a continuous groove. No doubt these seven marks so
enclosed have reference to the "perfect seven," a symbol of the highest antiquity
evolved from the mystic triang-le enclosed within the terrestial square, and employed
both in pagan and Christian times as the symbol of perfection. "God made all
things by measure, number, and weight." He made the world in six days and the
PREHISTORIC SCULPTURE ON GREEN CRAG, RUMBALDS MOOR.
seventh was consecrated to rest. Every seventh year the ploughshare was laid aside
that men might bless the Creator while the land lay fallow. $n-en years of plenty
and seven years of famine were foretold in Pharaoh's dream. Noah had seven days
warning of the flood, and was commanded to take the fowls of the air in by seven,
and the clean beasts by seven. Solomon was seven years in building the Temple, at
the dedication of which he feasted seven days. In Scripture are enumerated seven
resurrections. Our Lord spake seven times on the cross, on which he was seven
* It might be suggested that despite the present greenness of this moorland bank
the name may reflect the Goidelic greine, the sun. Brown on these moors is most
likely the Celtic Iron, a. slope ; and the local Black I have already sufficiently proved.
See Ellice's Place Names of Glengarry, p. 105.
235
hour". He ;ip]n-;irrcl teVtn liiiu-s and alter sci'cii time-- M nn day-- '•(•lit tin- Holy
(ilnist. There were also .vi-j'c;/ heavens, (the perfection ot delight) xiTi'ii star--, vc7'< //
wise men, ,s< -.•'('// champion-- of Christendom, .M -.-•/•;/ deadly sins, and AVTVV/ sacraments
in tlic Holy Catholic Church. The seven churches i>t the Celtic priesthood was a
continuation of the same idea of religious perfection, and there were Sfi'i'H churches
at (Jargrave (according- to tradition) on the north-west side of Rumbald's Moor.
The xi-.'O/t/i son of a family has always been held in Craven to be supernaturallv
endowed, and there is an entry to this effect in the Skipton registers for 1664. Such
is the sacred and perfect number sii'di. ( >n the Green ( 'rat;' stone are parallel rows of
cups on the outside of the groove. Such an orderly arrangement of rock-marking's
in this form is, I believe, unknown elsewhere. A, r I'late opposite.
». About twenty yards from the last are on Green ('raff three immense boulders, each
bearing- cup-marks.
10. Some 200 yards south-east of these is a curious pillar-like stone, having1 curiously-
weathered llu ting's down its sides, while the top presents a ridged, uneven surface,
like a number of small cones. It is known as the Idol Rock.
11. About 250 yards south-east again, on Qrecn Crag, is a large old boundary-stone,
inscribed "T.I'., \V.M., 1785," and it bears live basin-shaped incisions on it.
Kastward of Creen Crag runs Woo fa Bank. There is a Woo fa Bank between
Silsden and Draughton, west of Counter Hill; and a Woof Stones on Cowling-
Moor. L'lpha Church in Cumberland is called by the older country folk, " Oopha
Kirk," hence our Woofa may be a dialectal form of Vlpha. .SVr \nrtli I.onsdale
.\/<i.if., II. 17.
u. Crossing the level ground from the last-named, about a half-mile southwards we
come to a long and conspicuous ridge of glacial debris, part of a lateral moraine,
running- east and west, or parallel with the valley, for more than half-a-mile. The
debris has contained a very large percentage of limestone boulders and black
chert from the limestone country of the upper Dale. The ridge in every part has
been turned over, forming a series of heaps and hollows whence the limestone
has been extracted and burnt in primitive kilns on the spot. The remains of these
kilns may still be seen. The ridge has probably been dug or di-h'cd in the i6th
and 171!) centuries, as described on pp. 241--; of my CkrontdeS of Old Bingley. The
spot is known as Lanshaw Delves, which Forrest and Grainge mistook for a British
village. The name is probably a contraction of Langshaw (A.S. Innif itvW),
indicating the site of old forest-land, and in a citation of the boundaries of the
manor of Ilkley in (1500) it is written " Langshawe Ladde." There is a Langshaw
Bank at l.angbar on the opposite side of the river, anil set- also p. 122.
i;v Last o) above is Lanshaw Dam, formed in the bed of an old glacial tarn. The
moor-becks are drained into it.
14. North of this point is a cairn (originally 100 yards in circumference) known as the
Great Skirtful of Stones, a burial cairn of some forgotten chief.
" Heap the stones of my renown,
And let them speak to other days," is the cry of Ossian.
In the middle of it stands an old boundary-stone on which is cut, "Walter
Hawksworth. This is Rumbles La we. — Mr. Wardell says that it was 8^ feet in
diameter and 5 to 6 feet in height, in 1869.
15. South of this and not far from the Dam is the Little Skirtful of Stones, which
tradition says was let fall by the aforementioned giant Rumbalds, while hastening
to build a bridge over the Wharfe. See Dr. Richardson's letter (A.D. 1709) in
llearne's ed. of I. eland's ///';/. Vol. I. p. 143.
i<>. South ol the last is the familiar Qrubstone Shooting Tower, which it it cannot be
strictly regarded as an "antiquity" is by no means a recent erection, while it is
associated with many valuable "finds." Upon this elevated tract of flat ground
a larger number of (lints, in the shape of arrow-heads, knives, hammers, and stone
implements have been picked up than on any other part of the moor.
236
17- Near the Shooting Tower are several cup-marked rocks.
18. -To the S.E. is a stone circle about 80 feet in circumference.
IQ. A good half-mile east is a group of barrows, both of the round and long- types.
Described by FmTcst and Crainge in Tart III. r.l Kitmbalds Moor, (1869).
20. South of this we reach the Horncliffe Keeper's House, near to which on Hawksworth
Moor is a Stone Circle, figured and described in my Chronicles &>c. of Old ft in ff lev.
21. About ten feet above the circle is a stone six feet square and two feet thick
bearing cups on its edge. On the top of the ridge above Horncliffe is a large
barrow, or tumulus.
22. At the summit of the main road over the moor from Kldwick to Ilkley, and a little
to the rig-ht of the road, is another Stone Circle of twelve upright fragments and
boulders known as the Twelve Apostles. Constantine the Great (who is so closely
associated with this district), surrounded the Holy Sepulchre with 12 pillars, after
the number of the Apostles. Many pillar-stones employed in the service of pagan
ritual were afterwards used as Christian memorials. Many circles are found to
consist of 12 stones or multiplies of 12, as at Stonehenge (60) and it is consequently
assumed that they represent the 12 signs of the Zodiac, or 24 hours' time circle.
But see Professor Petrie's Stoitehenge : its Plaits, Descriptions and Theories (1880)
and Mr. Edgar Barclay's Stonehenge and its Earthworks (1895), the two ablest
contributions to this subject of recent years.
23. About 300 yards to the south, or Eldwick side of last-named, is an ancient boundary-
stone known as Lanshaw Lad. In Anglo-Saxon lad signifies a way or journey also
in Lappenberg's History of England under the Anglo-Saxons (Thorpe's translation)
it is interpreted as a supplying of beasts of burden for a journey, or the service ot
finding the lords with beasts of burden. I.ad-man, a leader, a guide. In Calderdale
there is a "Lads Lowe" and near it "Toby's Cave." See Dearden's Star Seer p.
133. There is a stone pillar on the Lower Brown Knowl marked "Lad of Law,"
on the boundary of the manor of Midgley. See Leeds Mercury Supplement (X. & Q.
No. 978), October 2nd, 1897.
24. A good half-mile east of above, and on Lanshaw Delves, is another old boundary-
stone latterly called by way of comparison with above, Lanshaw Lass.
25. About a mile south-west of Lanshaw Lad, on the same boundary, is the Ashlar
Chair, a very ancient land mark, at the junction of four ownerships. The stone is
couch-shaped about seven feet long, open to the south, and is sometimes spoken of
as the Druids' Chair. It bears numerous cups and channels.
26. A few yards to the east is a curious rock about fourteen feet long and five feet broad,
bearing cups and grooves on its topmost angle.
27. Between the Ashlar Chair and moor-road from Keighley to Ilkley are a couple of
large isolated boulders known as Two Eggs, though by no means egg-shaped. One
is almost square, measuring over forty yards in circumference, and the other is
fourteen feet long and about eight feet high. Both are channelled and bear cups.
28. On the opposite side of the road, a good half-mile west of the last named, is part of
a Stone Circle. It is in the corner of a piece of enclosed land and about a dozen of
the stones are still in situ.
29. A half-mile due north of Two Eggs stand a group of rocks known as Thimble
Stones, bearing cups and grooves.
30. A little north of the last-named is a large barrow, about 150 yards in circumference.
31. On the moor a short distance to the left of the road going to Ilkley, stands tin-
conspicuous Cowper Cross. No satisfactory explanation has been given of the
origin of this old stone cross. It stands in proximity to the Roman road, but has
nothing Roman about it. The shaft has originally been a plain obelisk and has
been broken at the top and formed into a Latin cross. It may have been erected
by some member of the Cowper family, who were numerous all round this wide
•
ml ring <
/DHOUSE CRAG.
form to a tetraskelion engraved on a wooden button, clasp or libula, covered with
gold plates, found at Mycena-, and figured No. 161 in Mr. Wilson's monograph.
The Swastika is almost unknown among Christian peoples, but it occurs on all
the sacred foot-prints of Buddha, and may be seen on the cast of Buddha's feet in
the Indian Museum, London. Dr. Schliemann found it engraved upon a very large-
number of spindle-whorls unearthed at Troy, as well as on other objects at Mycena-.
The Ilkley device is explained by Mr. Allen to be a modification made by doubling
the lines and curving the arms. It is noteworthy, says Mr. Thomas Wilson of
the U.S. National Museum, that while in modern times the Swastika is practically
unknown among Christians, the fret, chevron, herring-bone, crosses, and circles ot
every kind, have remained in use since Neolithic times, but no Swastika. The latest
use mentioned in the literature upon this subject appears to have been in the
Archepiscopal chair in the cathedral at Milan, which bears the three ancient
Christian crosses, the Latin cross, the monogram of Christ, and the Swastika, Hut
it has not died out all over the world. It is still in use in Lapland and Finland and
has continued in use among the Orientals.
There may possibly be others not enumerated in this list, as there
are also a great many of a similar character on the adjoining moors.
Various theories have been advanced respecting the origin,
meaning, and age of these remarkable carved rocks. Their association
with the many wild conjectures on the fiery rites of the Druids
must be dismissed.* No doubt they are all born of primitive
Nature worship, in which the sun, as the all-giving sustenance, has
through countless ages taken the principal part. But it must not
therefore be assumed that they are monuments carved in honour of
the visible sun, or direct symbolical offerings to the sun, as many of
them are found in places that the sun never touches. But the sun
as the chief factor in Nature is at the root of this worship and was
honored in most religious rites by all the ancient nations and in our
own country by the Celtic and Teutonic settlers markedly so. Mr.
Allen, in referring to the Ilkley stones, believes the cup and ring to
be " the symbol of some deity, perhaps the sun-god, who is indicated
by substituting a cup and ring for his head." Others hold the same
view. In the evolution of paganism and Christianity we have the
same idea expressed in the nimbus of the glorified Christ and the
saints. Likewise in the evolution of the cross from the primitive
crux ansata, probably represented in the Ilkley rocks (as it is in an
altered form on a late capital in the pre-Conquest Church at Weston
over the river) and in the five glorified wounds the symbolism is
continued.! Unfortunately no traditions survive in respect to the
* Although in Celtic worship the doctrine of atonement by blood did exist, and
the belief in burning alive prevailed in Ireland in much the same manner as in India, a
form and ritual in fact attributed to the Britons by Caesar. See Cormack's Glossary by
Whitley Stokes, page 63 (Irish Archael. Society).
f Mr. Pugin in his Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament gives plates (undated) in
which the five wounds are symbolised by five crosses flory, glorified with rays and
crowns ; and also proper, with the sacred blood flowing into chalices. Is not the
same idea represented on the ancient arms of Christ (a shield of twenty quarterings)
preserved in the Cathedral of Mayence? The Mass of the Five Wounds is shewn to
be as old as the 8th century, and probably belongs to a still more ancient ritual.
239
Ilklev stones, .UK! MI f.ir .-is I can discover very few exist in other
parts of Britain. The natives around Dartmoor tell you that the
rock-basins there were used by the Jews to keep their money in
when they paid their workmen in the tin-mines. But this is obviously
a verv practical modern tradition and has nothing whatever to do
with Nature or sun worship.
The Ojibbawa Indians regard the concentric circles as the
symbols of time, out of which is evolved the sacred circle of eternity.*
And this brings us back again to the sun, the symbol for which as
used by the Chinese, as well as by other nations, is a circle with a
dot in the centre; afterwards it was a ring enclosing a cross,
representing its rays. Thence was evolved the wheel of the sun-car
and a rude-boat (like the golden bowl given to Hercules by Apollo)
is the sun-ship (which led to the adoption of the navis for the longer
part of the Christian Church), and so on multiplying into a great
variety of complicated devices. Three converging rays indicate the
in) stic triad, and bent or hooked at the ends become the triquetra, a
sacred emblem in many mythologies, and presented in various ways.f
One of the most interesting of its later developments (probably of
the Iron Age, if not later, as working on millstone-grit is not like
carving on metal)}: appears on the now famous Woodhouse Crag
rock above Ilkley, shewn in the illustration on page 237. The
same figure may have come down to us in the peculiar form of three
human legs conjoined and still used in the civic arms of the Isle
of Man, though some contend the latter are an importation of the
triskelion from Sicily.
Again, the figure 8 is the sun-snake, connected with several sets
of early cults, and representing the vivifying powers of Nature.
These combined into a line make a rope pattern, into a double line
the plait, which however readily derived from other necessities of
manufacture, are thus adapted to the service of mystic symbolism. §
And thus from the mystic triad or triquetra and sun-snake we get
those beautiful designs so exquisitely carved on our early Christian
crosses, of which the Wharfedale examples at Ilkley and Otley are
the most notable. On bronze ornaments of the primitive lake-
dwellers the triquetra is also engraved.
With regard to the precise meaning of every form of rock
sculpture, nothing positive can be advanced until we are in possession
of most of the facts and traditions relating to them in other parts of
A. e 1'ninx. of the IMHC. and Cheshire Ant. .S'wr. (1889) on the astromical theory of
tin- Ilklt-y rock-markings.
I .Sec Collingwood'.s I'hilnsopliy <>f Ornamrnl (1883) page 14.
; I hid \i. 109. Merc crude-ness is no criterion of antiquity any more than the
ili-covcry ot a Him <>r stout- weapon can be -aid to belong to that particular age. In
Fiji, t<>r example, the natives were living in the Stone Age almost up to our annexation
of the island in 1874. .V.r the chapter on Cl I.IK ( IKASSIXC; I ox. :< Ibid page 14.
246
the world. Amongst the North American Indians and in parts of
Asia, the cup depressions and furrows are known to be connected
with the universal desire for posterity, as sanctioned by Nature
through the all-giving life of the sun.* On the other hand single
cup-stones in some places, notably in Scandinavia, are associated
with the sacred rites of burial. The cups are filled with an unctuous
preparation, which on being ignited produces a slow-burning fume,
and as this ascends the spirit of the deceased is believed to be aided
in its journey to the better sphere. There is little doubt but that
this belief is a survival of some primitive cults which have existed
and may still exist among Eastern tribes. f The doctrine of the
ascending spirit and of after-life is, of course, older than Christianity.
Plato, the great Athenian philosopher, living 400 years before Christ,
recognized this doctrine, then old enough to be well-known, that
Death is but the Gate of Life. " My body," he says, " must descend
to the place ordained, but my soul will not descend. There is no such
thing as death, it is only change from one condition to another."
This leads me now to consider briefly the cause of the present
being and status of Ilkley, as illustrated by the story of these
wonderful stones, of which the town of Ilkley ought to be justly
proud and every endeavour made to spare and preserve them. My
impression is that lying chiefly along the line of crags overlooking
the present town (how many have perished or have been destroyed,
I know not) they mark the position and strength of the original
Goidelic settlement during the Bronze Age. As similar inscriptions
are now found among primitive people throughout the world, but
chiefly in the East, it is evident that so far as Britain is concerned
the same people on a westward migration brought the practice with
them. I can indeed see no reason why the practice should not have
survived at Ilkley until the Cymric-Celtic occupation, as Goidel and
Brython were so intimately related, and only on the Roman or
perhaps the great Teutonic irruption, with its alien rites, in the fifth
* The following volumes, amongst others, (privately printed) have appeared on
this aspect of the question: (i) Ophiolatreia: Rites and Mysteries connected with
Serpent Worship, with traditions, serpent mounds and temples, a phase of Phallic or
Sex Worship. Crown 8vo. (1889) (2) Archaic Rock Inscriptions, an account of the cup
and ring markings on the sculptured stones of the Old and New Worlds. Front. Cr.
8vo. (1891) (3) A description of the Worship of Lingham-Yoni, with account of ancient
and modern Crosses, Crux Ansata, and other symbols of Sex Worship. Cr. 8vo.
(1892) (4) Fishes, Flowers, and Fire, as Elements and Deities in the Phallic Faiths and
Worship of the Ancient Religions of Greece, Babylon, Rome, India &c., with illustrated
myths and legends (1892). In Williams and Rowe's Fiji and the Fijians (1858) cups and
rings are associated with a debased and degraded form of Nature worship. Pillar
stones were the recognized symbols of propitiation or memorial in the time of Jacob,
and stone Ezels were known in the days of David and Jonathan.
f In Mr. Rivett-Carnac's Ancient Sculpt lit Ings on Rocks at Kainaon, a province
lying in the shadow of the Himalayas, he shows how some of these archaic markings
are connected with native religions in India.
24!
<vntur\, \voulil their use be abandoned and in time forgotten.* I
have elsewhere said sufficient to justify the Goidelic occupation of
the Ilkley Crags as far hack as the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age
led that of Iron, and the early iron-using people came into
England probably from South Germany" about 300-200 i;.c.
1 shall now contend that from the Goiclel to the second Celtic
conquest \ve are brought down to this period, and that at this era the
Celtic settlements on Rumbakls Moor and the adjacent commons
were amongst the most important in the North of England. What
may have been the rites or practices prevalent on these high lands at
this era is not, as I have remarked, sufficiently known. Nor dare we
say much of the stones themselves. Whatever may be their relative
position in other places, at Ilkley they mostly lie along the moor
having an outlook to the east, and if there be any meaning in this, it
is interesting to note again how Christian symbolism is based on older
custom, for all our churches are made to point to the rising sun, the
symbol of the Christian's Saviour and of his future expectations. f
I think there is little doubt that apart from any religious significance,
the strength of this Celtic settlement was the prime factor in the
Roman Conquest here, and the motive for fixing their station lower
down in the usual position beside the river. I am not aware that
even a single relic other than of a Roman or of a Romano-Celtic
character has ever been found on or near the site of the Roman
camp, and the same may likewise be said of Grassington, to which
many Britons withdrew. The steady retention of the site by an
increased population on the Roman evacuation subsequently led to
the Anglo-Saxon seizure. The flight of the Britons once more to the
hills, their ultimate amalgamation until the religious controversy of
A.D. 664, again divided the race ; the building of the Christian church
before the Normans came in 1066, and the growth of Ilkley to the
present time, I have already elucidated. And this may be said to be
entirely due to the original settlement on the Ilkley moors, whose
primitive memorials — the very basis of Ilkley's existence, and indeed
of her prosperity — are still with us, and it is to be hoped will long be
preserved to a still more enlightened and appreciative posterity.
As the present-day guardians of these precious memorials of
Old Ilkley the District Council are primarily responsible for their safe
keeping. The time may come when points not now observed may
require close scrutiny of the stones themselves which photographs or
rubbings of them may not reveal. Some of them have been
uncovered from beneath live, six, and even ten feet of peat. When bared
Sec an article by Mr. H. W. Young F. S.A., on the Elgin Stones in tin- Reliquary
for January 1897, in which lie traces tin- connection between the cup and ring marks
and certain symbols prevalent in Scotland as late as the beginning of the Christian
period.
f Sec 1'oole on Ecclesiastical Symbolism,
242
of this protective clothing the inscriptions were in several examples as
fresh almost as the day when first cut. But the heavy moor-rains
and sun-heat are gradually but surely effacing the sculptures. In the
case of the Green Grag stone, the Woodhouse Crag swastika-rock and
the "cup and ladder'' stone before St. Margaret's Church, would it not
be well to have them temporarily covered in? The last-named might
be placed under a liftable lid or beneath a low sloping awning to
carry off the rain, and in such a position that it may still be open to
the inspection of visitors.
With regard to No. 12 of the list, this lateral moraine can be
traced nearly to Hawksworth, and there is no doubt that the present
Ilkley Tarn was originally a small morainic lake, enlarged when the
present encompassing walks were laid out. Ice-groovings are still
discernible on rock surfaces near the Cow and Calf, parallel with the
lateral moraine, but no ice-markings have been discovered at a higher
elevation than the Lanshaw Delves, which apparently marks the
westward limit of the ice-flow down the valley. Between Menston
and Yeadon the accumulations of glacial debris are considerable.
On the east side of the valley moraine detritus may be seen in long
mounds running from Langbar, parallel with the valley southwards
to Askwith and Weston. Another linear rubbish-bank extends from
Middleton towards Denton, where it curves to and crosses the river
at Escroft, forming the only ascent on the road from Burley to Ben
Rhydding, and which must have originally dammed back the river,
forming a large lake. The composing debris includes boulders of
limestone and grit from the higher reaches of the valley, and as in
Airedale down to Shipley, occasional boulders and fragments of
Silurian origin from Ribblesdale may be picked up.
Long and varied as is the history of this wide and accessible
moorland, yet another important fragment of history attaches to it.
In 1872 it was selected by the War Office as the site of a great
military encampment in Yorkshire. The engineers reported there
was not such another suitable site in Great Britain. An extent of
five or six miles in length was fixed upon, and either the Government
or the Midland Railway Co. would have had to make two branch
lines to Rumbalds Moor, one from Bingley by Morton and the other
from Guiseley. A canal wharf for cannon and war material was to
have been made between Bingley and Morton, and nine stations
erected within five miles of the moor, to which troops could be
simultaneously marched, and 100,000 men, horses, cannon, etc.,
could be despatched to Barrow, for Ireland, or to any other part of
England within twenty-four hours. It was to have been a great
depot for war material, and permanent barracks for two regiments of
infantry and one regiment of cavalry. It was intended to camp
60,000 to 80,000 on the moor every summer.
Considerable local opposition to the proposal followed, and on
243
Jan. yth, 1873, at a largely attended meeting of the- inhabitants of
Ilkle\. a resolution was adopted condemnatory of the scheme, and a
memorial was drawn up and forwarded to tin- Secretary of War.
K\entually Rumbalds Moor was in veil up and the present site at
Streiisall Common, near York, adopted instead. No one can now
doubt the wisdom of that decision. The Ilkley Moors are a grand
and unpolluted breathing-ground to a vast surrounding population,
and to this health-giving moorland, with its priceless antiquities, the
prosperity of Ilkley is almost entirely due. And while the open moor
with its amplitude of air ami sky, is above all others the place
where one might expect to enjoy the calm and freedom of Nature
without restraint, it is to be regretted that an ever-increasing number
of visitors has rendered some restrictions necessary. Visitors are
now bound to limit their perambulations to certain well-defined
foot-paths, which are prescribed by notice-boards on various parts of
the moor.
On several occasions the moor has been the scene of disastrous
conflagrations. Perhaps the most serious of these occurred in the
very dry summer of 1826, when upwards of 500 acres were burnt on
Ilkley Moor, and Hawksworth Moor was entirely consumed. The
flames raged for over a week and in the night-time looked weirdly
grand , the sky being reddened with the glow for many miles around!
CHAPTER XVI.
AROUND ILK LEV.
Great changes about Ilkley — Hebers' Gill, formerly Black Beck — An ancient tribal
boundary — Silver Well — Hollin Hall— The Hebers, Maudes, and Currers — Ilkley
Bridge — Myddelton Lodge and the Middletons The late William Middleton Esq.
His private benevolence — Sale of part of the Myddelton estate.
CHANGE more sweeping and sudden could hardly
be found anywhere than that witnessed in the
neighbourhood of the old Green Lane of only a few
years back. In place of straggling thatched farms and
humble cottages, there is the present Grove Road, a
handsome, well-laid carriage-drive, with its rows of stately villas,
leading towards Hebers' Gill (I prefer the true Norse spelling to the
Cumbrian distortion, ghyll) \ This side of Ilkley has been from
earliest times, old forest-land extending far up to the moor. Not
very long ago a trunk of black bog-oak was dug up in the Grove at
a depth of 16 feet from the surface, and a piece of it, forty inches
long, is now in the Museum. The picturesque moor-side stream,
Hebers' Gill, with its rustic bridges and convenient seats, so familiar
to Ilkley visitors, was formerly known as Black Beck. This is a
very interesting name, which carries us back far beyond the days of
the Hebers or any other local family, even unto the time of the first
Celtic dwellers in these parts. It helps to confirm what I have
advanced in the last chapter respecting the occupation of Ilkley
during the Bronze Age, for this word, black, is a modern contraction
of the Goidelic (Irish) bealach, a boundary, or passage from one
land-claim to another. The word also helps us to determine what
have been the old Celtic tribal divisions, many of which are retained
as boundaries to this day. But here the ancient boundary has not
been retained -} it passes a little to the west of Black Beck (Hebers'
Gill) and comes down near Hollin Hall, which is in Ilkley parish.
A little west of it and we are in Addingham. At the top of Hebers'
Gill is a spring of very pure water, called Silver Well, which it is not
unlikely was an old Celtic tutelary spring, and bits of metal or other
articles may have been thrown into it as offerings for protection from
the saint or presiding genius of the well. St. Helen's Well near
Gargrave, and St. Helen's Well, near Thorp Arch, are of this class.
In the general transition of religious belief many of these sacred
springs received Christian dedications.
Hollin Hall is a very interesting old place. It formerly belonged
to Hexham Priory and is associated with many notable families, such
245
as the Maudes, Currers and Hebers. It is often said that the
celebrated Bishop Heber was born here, but this is quite a mistake.
He was of the same stock as the Hollin Hall Hebers, but as a
matter of fact was born at Malpas in Cheshire where his father was
rector. Parties driving this way to and from Ilkley are frequently
told that this was the birthplace of Bishop Heber, but there is at
least one "cabby" in Ilkley who knows better. He was taking an
interested party for a drive along the Addingham road when he
suddenly pulled up in front of the old house, and exclaimed, "Ladies
and ge'men, this is not the birthplace of Bishop Heber, as you'll
sometimes hear, it was his grandfather who was born here." Not a
HOLLIN HALL.
bad shot for Jehu, though still something off the mark. Bishop
Heber died in 1826 at the early age of 41, and was descended from
the old Marton-in-Craven family ; his grandfather, Thomas Heber
having been born at Marton Hall and died there in 1752. He was
great-great-grandson of Thomas Heber, of Marton, who died in 1659,
whose father, Thomas, removed from Stainton to Marton, and was
treasurer for lame soldiers in the time of James I. He died in 1633,
His younger brother, Reginald Heber, resided at Hollin Hall, near
Ilkley, and died there in 1653. His grandson Thomas Heber of
Hollin Hall, born 1670, was a scapegrace, and when a young man
was concerned in a burglary freak at Ilkley and narrowly escaped
246
hanging. What became of him in after-life is not known, but perhaps
an entry in the churchwardens' accounts at Bradford may throw
some light on the conditions of his old age :
1713. Gave to Mr. Heber, an old decay'd gentl'n p. Vicar's order— as. 6d.
The Hebers continued at Hollin Hall for several generations, and I
have already noted some of their quaint old brasses in Ilkley Church.
Hollin Hall three or four hundred years ago was a small hamlet,
comprising three substantial homesteads, a cottage and a watermill
but only one of the houses, the old home of the Rogers (who afterwards
took the name of Rogerson), still stands. It is now the property of
Mr. John Ellis, whose family has lived here for the best part of a
hundred years. Christopher Ellis settled here in the first decade of
the century, and his wife, Judith Davis (a Welsh woman) was well
known for her activity of mind and vigorous constitution. She lived
to the age of ninety-five. Their son William Ellis, succeeded to the
farm, which was purchased from Mr. Middleton some years ago by
the present owner, Mr. John Ellis, who was born in the house and is
still living there, now in his 7oth year. The house, a Jacobean
building, contains a fine oak-wainscotted room, over the doorway of
which is a decorated panel, bearing the initials and date TR, ER
1623 (Thomas Rogers who died in 1635 and his wife). The estate
had been purchased in 1567 of Sir Godfrey Foljambe (ancestor of the
present Lord Hawkesbury)* by William Rogers (father of the builder)
Wm. Wade, Thomas Maude,-f- and William Currer.
These Maudes and Currers have a long and interesting ancestry,
and the pedigree on pages 248-9 shews their connection with Hollin
* A daughter of Sir Godfrey Foljambe married in 1392 Sir Robert Plumpton,
brother of Richard Plumpton, of Nesslield, on the opposite side of the river to Hollin
Hall. (See DC Raiiat Roll, ////. <jth Eli?, in. lO-ff, also Cull. Tup. (-t. Ceneal. (Roberts),
Vol. 2 p. 72). The above Sir Godfrey was son and heir of Sir James Foljambe, Kt. of
Walton and Akhvark, Co. Derby, and married Trothea, daughter of Sir Wm. Tyrwhitt,
of Ketelbv. Sir James had a brother Godfrey Foljambe, of Croxden, who died at
Aldwark in I^SQ. He married Margaret, sister and co-heir of Sir Wm. Fitzwilliam, of
Aldwark, anil through her this Godfrey Foljambe inherited another manor of " Holling
Hall," in all probability the one just outside Farl Fitx.william's park at Wentworth.
Again in 1560, the above Sir Godfrey Foljambe and Trothea, his wife, were deforciants
respecting the manors of Penistone, Waterhall, Holleyhall &c., which after a term of
three days remain to Francis, son of James Foljambe Kt. , deceased, for his life, and
after his death to Godfrey and his heirs. This Holly Hall is in the township of Hunshelf
and parish of Penistone.
f The will of Thomas Maude of Hollin Hall, dated 1602, is a very important
document in the history of the family. It is given in full in Hunters MSS. in the
British Museum (Add. : 24,476). The fact that Thomas Maude of Hollin Hall left
legacies to the sons of Arthur Maude, of Riddlesden, is assumed by Hunter to be
evidence of relationship. It is however only inference — I may add that Anthony
Maude, from whom descends in the fifth generation, Sir Cornwallis Maude, created
Baron Montalt, was sole executor under the will of his cousin the above Thomas
Maude of Hollin Hall.
247
1 lall, and is continued on a subsequent page by tin- marriage in i 754 of
Margaret, daughter of Henry Currer, gent., with Dr. \Vm. Moorhouse,
of Skipton, to the humble author of this book. In my history of
Bingk-\ I have shewn on page 74 how the Montaltes or Maudes of
Riddlesden, in the parish of Bindley, arc descended from the Karls of
Northumbria, before the Conquest. Tlieir subsequent lineage will be
found in the Visitations. Christopher Maude, of Hollin Hall, was
great-grandson of Constantine Montalte or Mohaut, who was living at
West Riddlesden in 1480. Christopher had a daughter, Isabel, who
married William Currer of Marley, in Bingley parish, who died in
1604. In his will dated 1562, John Maud, of Brandon, (buried in
Harewood Church) mentions "my friend William Currer, lease of
tenement at Ilkley" who may be the same.* His brother Henry
Currer lord of the manor of Kildwick, married Ann Wade, of
Addingham. Their son, Hugh Currer, of Marley, purchased the manor
of Bingley from the Walkers, and it was sold by Henry Currer, his
grandson, in 1668 to Robert Benson, father of the first Lord Bingley.
Of the Moorhouses, who intermarried with the Currers, more will be
said when I come to deal with some of the old homesteads in the
neighbourhood of Bolton Abbey.
Later in the i7th century a family named Bolton was living at
Hollin Hall, and in the Ilkley registers I find that one Wm. Bolton, of
Hollin Hall, was buried, i8th August, 1678, "in woollen without
anything of linnen about him according to the Act of Parliament."
This was an Act for encouraging the home woollen-trade. In the
Ilkley registers there are nearly a score such entries in 1678.
There are, by the way, several Hollin or Holling Halls in
Yorkshire, a circumstance which has led to some confusion amongst
them. There is a Hollin Hall just outside Earl Fitzwilliam's park at
Wentworth, another about three miles south of Ripon (most probably
the original seat of the Woodd family of Langstrothdale); a third is
in the township of Warley, three miles from Halifax; a fourth is in
the township of Rathmell, near Settle, whilst there is a Holly Hall
in the township of Hunshelf, four miles from Penistone. There is
likewise a Hollin Hall in Coquetdale Ward, Northumberland, and
another in Darlington Ward, Durham. The name has no doubt to
do with old holly-plantations, which in former times were protected
as a winter provision for deer and sheep, as well as for necessary
decoration at the great winter festival of the Church. In the
* Among- the witnesses to tin- will are William t'urrcr and Thomas Maud,
presumably the co-purchasers of I lollinifhall. In an Inq. p.m. 1563, of the said John
Maud, it is affirmed he held lands and mcs^ua^es in the parishes of Harewood, Hardsey,
Ilkley, and he also held the rectory of Ilkley of the Oueen as of her manor of Kast
Greenwich, and that William Currer had taken the profits of all the premises, with a
small exception, to the use of Arthur Maude, but by what title the jurors know not,
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Household I'.ook of Lord C'litYonl for 1510 I find this entry:
IIM. [Live! the xiiijth (lay <>l May by the hands nl Mr. Stewart lor holk-n tall the
la^t wynter in Harden, v.v.
The tree was anciently known by the- names of Hulver and Holme.
Let us now cross Ilkley Bridge to the Middleton side of the
river. \<> <me knows when the first bridge was built, but it is
marked on the oldest map of Yorkshire that is known, namely
Christopher Saxton's, printed in 1577. In 1639 it was washed down
by a Hood,* and this old bridge and a subsequent one stood about
thirty yards below the present erection. It is a picturesque structure
standing high out of reach of the great floods that sweep with such
Low HALL, ILKLEY.
impetuosity down the valley. Occasionally fine limestone corals and
other fossil shells, including Proditctus gigctHfeu, are picked up in the
vicinity, having been washed down from the neighbourhood of
(irassington.
Having crossed the bridge we have on our right the substantial
and picturesque old house of Low Hall, the old home of the
Aldersons with its fine walnut tree in front, and ancient fish-pond,
once famous for its tench. Climbing the pleasant slope we perceive
the strongly-built old home of the Middletons before us on our left,
* Yorks. Anil. //., v. 374.
252
which is a notable feature in the landscape of this sunny hill-side for
many, miles around. The old Lodge, of which I give a view, is a
picturesque sixteenth century building, having a Tudor oriel window
in front and a very massive stone entrance. The square tower at the
north-west angle appears of like age, having similar wall-coursing
and quoining, and flat-headed windows with plain label mouldings.
The modern chapel built up to the tower was added, and up to 1879,
when the new Roman Catholic Chapel was built in Ilkley, served the
spiritual needs of the local inhabitants, who were mostly Roman
Catholics. Before the erection of the chapel services were held in
one of the rooms of the Lodge.
At an early date that wealthy and numerous body of crusading
monks, the Knights Templars, obtained possession of certain lands
at Ilkley, and there is a document of local interest preserved among
the records at York which shews to what degree of legal power the
order had attained by the end of the thirteenth century. Henry III.
granted them numberless privileges and exemptions, and at Ilkley
we learn how they could and did enforce them. Peter Middleton,
then of Nessfield, (temp. Edward I.) had, it seems, some dispute with
the tenants of the Templars in Wharfedale, and was compelled under
a penalty of zos. to be paid towards the fabric of York Minster
(doubtless the present nave, then being built) to withold at any and
all times, proceedings of whatsoever kind against the Templars in any
court, canonical or civil. That if he suffered injury from any of
their tenants he must bring his complaint before their court at
Whitkirk, in other words he was to be tried before a prejudiced
tribunal.* Well might this arrogation of power and public injustice,
to the detriment of the national courts of law, have led to the
Templars' downfall, or at any rate have proved, as it did, one of the
prime motives for their suppression.
Myddelton Lodge has been the home of the Middletons for
several centuries, and since the time of Richard III. they have been
lords of the increasingly-valuable manor of Ilkley (see page 204). The
Ilkley branch from its foundation has always been devoutly attached
to the Roman Catholic religion. The family's lineage and descent
have been so often cited that it would be needless repetition to detail
the succession of all the De Middletons and their inter-marriages with
distinguished northern families, from the Norman period to the present
time. But whatever bright and noble acts may have characterised
any of the early members of this ancient house, they reappeared with
unfading lustre in the person of the late Mr. Wm. Middleton, whose
good deeds and large-hearted benefactions no present-day writer can
willingly pass unnoticed. "The Good Mr. Middleton," as he is still
fondly spoken of by the older race of Ilkleyites, was one of the most
* The evidence is printed in full in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1857, page 645.
253
generous and sympathetic of men who ever owned fair acres. No
one will ever know the full extent of his gifts to the poor of Ilkley,
nor of his unending private charity in various other directions. In
fair weather or foul he might often have been seen going about
dispensing charity witli his own hand, and making not very close
enquiry into cases that had been represented to him as needing help.
"Careless their merits or their faults to scan
Mis pity gave ere charity began."
He also gave every facility to sportsmen and anglers on the estates,
and his leniency to poachers on his well-stocked preserves was looked
upon by some with much misgiving. But his fame was so fair that
even many a hardened spirit could not thoil (as the Yorkshire saying
is) to take the good man's possessions thus dishonestly, and it is said
he suffered less from these stealthy depredations than many another
who meted out retribution on the offenders. During severe winters,
or when employment was scarce, his thoughts ever turned to those
in need. At Christmas his bounty was considerable and must have
come like warm sunlight to many a poor man's home. His last
years were much given to religious meditation and to constant yet
unostentatious charity. At the very hour of his death on December
1 6th, 1847, tne I'kley shop-folk and merchants were busy delivering
flour and meal, meat, coal, blankets, and clothing, to many ill-
provided families in the parish, and these in double quantities to what
they had received before, by his express wish. He died indeed
beloved as a father taken from his children, unambitious of honours
or office, " more bent to raise the wretched than to rise." These
words of Goldsmith may be aptly applied to him : —
Kven children followed, with endearing wile,
And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile:
His ready smile a parent's warmth expressed
Their welfare pleased him, and their cares distressed:
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven.
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Kternal sunshine settles on its head!
Full of years he was laid to rest in the little burial-ground
adjoining Middleton Chapel. His eldest son and successor was the
late Peter Middleton Esq., who died in 1866, having married Juliana,
daughter of Charles Phillip, :6th Lord Stourton, a nobleman, who
purchased in 1805 the manor of Allerton Mauleverer, Co. York, for
^163,800.* This Mr. Middleton formed the curious "Calvary" in
the grounds north of the lodge, which is entered by a doorway
bearing these apt words in Latin : "-Sad is my soul unto death.''
The passage winds in the gloom of overhanging trees to a secluded
.Sec the author's \idd?rdale, pages 197-200.
grotto which was formerly titled up as an oratory. The stations of
the Cross border the narrow way, and there is a large figure of the
Blessed Virgin placed beneath a canopy, on which appears a verse
of the well-known Latin hymn, Stabat Mater dolorosa* Some of the
relics found at Ilkley have been brought here, including several
fragments of early crosses &c. Since 1896 the Lodge has been let
to tenants, the present occupant being W. H. Longbottom Esq.
The late Mr. Midclleton dearly loved the old ancestral home and
everything about it. He would have no interference with the beauty
of the estate, which in his day was richly wooded almost all the way
from Denton to Middleton. And there was some fine timber too,
such as one could only find on the richest river-side pasture-land. He
used sometimes to say: "Ah, me! the axe will go ding dong, ding
dong, when I am gone." While he lived it is said only one tree was
cut down, and this was out of pure kindness of heart to oblige a man
named Dobson, who was very anxious to have a stump grown on the
estate out of which to make a new wooden leg, as the one he had
carried for many years had worn two inches below its original length.
The old squire at last promised to remove a small tree, but it was
with a sorrowful heart. He would much sooner have parted with ^50.
When he died nearly all the grand old trees on the banks of the river,
especially from Bow Beck to the circling deep pool called the Crum
Wheel, was, as he had anticipated barked and felled. Now within
the last two years a large portion of this part of the estate, comprising
about 450 acres, has been sold to a company for ,£55,000, together
with all fishing rights, &c., and the great arm of modern Ilkley is to
stretch to this side of the water. The land is to be laid out in broad
avenues, with villas and houses of not less than a certain value. But
are we to murmur at this encroachment upon a lovely bit of Old
Wharfedale ? Tempus et homines edax rent in \
* One would like to know if the Robert Middleton, "a native of Yorkshire," who
Was hanged at Lancaster in i6ot tor refusing to give up the faith of his fathers, was ot
this family? Another Roman Catholic Yorkshireman of the name, Anthony Middleton,
was so resolved in his faith that he was ordered to be hanged and embowelled and cut
down while alive, at Durham, in May 1590.
CHAPTER XVII.
AROUND BKA.MSLKY BKACON.
I lowlier Hill, it-- meaning Supposed tumuli Beacon lig-hted during- the threat of the
French invasion -- Fine prospect Lang-bar An ancient paved way Barnbowers
Currer Hall Karrand House -\Ve.-i Hall and the Kcrrands — Beacon House — The
Briggs family — The late Mr. B. B. Popplcwcll Church services at Beacon Hill —
Local Weslevans Ling Park and the Kendalls.
HE majestic Hill of Hovvber, or Beamsley Beacon, as it
is now commonly called, presents about its wide and
airy expanses many features of interest. Myddelton
Lodge, described in the last chapter, stands at no great
distance from it, and was no doubt originally a hunting-
seat for the old lords who delighted to sport about these forested and
heathery uplands. The Roman road from Ilkley to Aldborough
crosses its eastern Hanks, and at one time Roman tiles and other
evidences of the constant passage were not infrequently picked up,
while in the name of the Hill there is just a suspicion of its having
been the scene of a great contest between Roman and Celt, or perhaps
of the Romanised Celts and the later Teutonic conquerors. Howber
literally is the Hill of Tombs, from the Teut. haugr, Ang. how, a burial
mound, and berg als. her, a hill, often fortified. I have noticed,
however, but one hoiv on all this wide moor, and this lies about 400
yards north of the plantation behind Ling Park. It is thickly covered
with ling, and measures eighty yards in circumference, and has a
hollow centre as if it had been disturbed. As it lies on an undoubted
Celtic boundary which runs northwards to Black Fell, and still marks
the division of the ancient parishes of Skipton and Ilkley, it may
possibly not cover an interment, but have been thrown up, as we
know these mounds sometimes were made, to indicate a boundary or
way-mark, like the "lad-stones" of the Saxons I have mentioned on
Rumbalds Moor. Be this as it may, no apparent traces of other
mounds exist on Howber, though I have heard it said there are some
nearer the summit. But in the absence of fuller evidence, may I
suggest the A-S. hawe, v. hhiwan, to view, to prospect; though Lye
in his Diet. Sax. et Goth. Lat. (1772) gives hon as a mountain, and
beorh, a citadel or fortress? In old local writings it is variously
spelled Houber, Howbar, Hoober, and even Rubber. Whether it
has ever been actually fortified, or has formed a summer camp, like
the top of Ingleborough, there is now nothing to shew, but of its
256
long use as a prospecting-point and beacon there is no doubt. In
the Bolton Abbey registers, under date 1803, is this entry:
Apprehensive of a French invasion, Beamsley Beacon was put in a state of repair,
and four people appointed to watch it. About — of the inhabitants of this chapelry
in rolled themselves as Volunteers, the whole number of whom in Craven amounted to
1,200 Infantry and 200 Cavalry. A Sergeant was appointed to drill the volunteers <>t
this chapelry at Bolton.
The beacon at this time received light from Pinhavv on Carlton Moor
and sent it forward to Otley Chevin, as appears by an old chart at
VVakefield, dated 1803.
The summit of the Beacon (1,300 feet) which is capped with the
Kinderscout or Peak of Derbyshire grit, commands one of the widest
views in West Yorkshire, and as a well-defined path can be followed
all the way up, the trip is well worth making. On Jubilee night in
June 1897, a fire was lighted on a point of the beacon, (800 feet
elevation) from which more than a score fires could be seen, including
Pendle Hill, Cracoe Fell, Rawdon Billing, Otley Chevin, Rylstone
Fell, Whernside, &c.
The scattered hamlet of Langbar or Langber lies down below on
its southern slope, and like Howber appears to retain in its name a
distinctive kind of her* Some names, however, around the Beacon
proclaim the presence of the old Gaelic Celt, such as Black Hill, Black
Foss, already explained, while the name Oliver close to the same
ancient Celtic boundary, is perhaps of similar antiquity. There is
on the line of the Scots Dyke, near Richmond, in the North Riding, a
spot known as Oliver Ducket and Oliver Gill, which I have suggested
may be a corruption of the Celt, oirirgael, the dike or boundary of the
Gael.f There is evidently a very ancient right of way across Langbar
Moor, which has been paved with single-file stones probably within
the last two centuries, when there was a general reparation of country
causeways. I have traversed this road from the direction of Middleton
northwards under the Beacon towards Storiths, where it joined the
road, mentioned later, from Bolton Bridge over Hazlewood Moor, and
was used in the days of the monasteries. An invigorating and
appetizing walk it is too, when the sun lights up the hill, with the
heather in bloom and wild birds are winging between you and the sky!
In and around Langbar are a few interesting old houses, notably
Currer Hall, Farrand House, and formerly an ancient and picturesque
* Langbar is three and a half miles north-west of llkley and there is a Langbar on
the moor a few miles north of Bewcastle, in Cumberland, which has some early Anglian
crosses of similar age and beauty to the llkley crosses, and like llkley its church stands
within the ruins of a Roman camp. Opposite our Wharfedale Langbar is Acldingham,
and singularly, too, south of Bewcastle and Carlisle is the ancient parish of Addingham.
One might conclude that the Anglian settlers, together with the energetic art of St.
Wilfrith's time, had followed the Roman road from llkley to Aldboro' and thence to
Catterick, Kirkby Stephen, Addingham and Bewcastle.
f See the author's Richmondshire, p. 193.
257
homestead called I5:irnbowers, which was unfortunately pulled down
some thirls years ago. In the early part of the century it was the
residence of Major ISriggs, whose daughter, Mary, married Wm.
Pullan, who died at I-'arrand House in 1X52. aged seventy-five, and is
buried at Bolton Abliey. I have M-en an old indenture, dated 1648,
wherein it appears the house was then occupied by a family named
l.owcocke, and one Laurence Lowcocke, of Barnbovvers, purchased
of Francis and Thomas Hodgson, of Hovvber Hill, a cottage, garden
and close, occupied by Richard LJmpleby, of the yearly rent of 8s.,
and a parcel of meadow ground "lately taken of a certain close called
Black Howber Hill," which adjoined the said cottage and close. A
rustic old home this must have been where the good man and his
wife found decent shelter, a garden to grow vegetables, and a field
perhaps for a cow, and all for the magnificent annual disbursement
of eiiiht shillings.
CURRER HALL.
Currer Hall, the property of John Cunliffe Kaye, Esq., is a very
pleasantly situated, substantial building, apparently erected in the
early part of the eighteenth century, and is now in the occupation of
Mrs. Douglas. The entrance-hall is of handsome black oak having
carved panels. The Currers, as I have before pointed out (see page
246) were an old Wharfedale family* and in the seventeenth century
were living at Langbar. In the Skipton church registers I find there
was a Thomas Currer, of Langbar, who married Ann Raykes, of
: It is essentially a Craven name, and I have sometimes thought it may have
originated when Cymric-Celtic bird names were in common use in Craven, as part of
the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, which kingdom came to an end about A. I). 1018.
They -urvived in Cumbria till last (eighteenth) century. The Celtic word for a heron
is nirra. Sec also Specht (Speight) in chapter of Foundation of Bolton Priory.
Addingham, in Nov. 1667, and in the April following, Henry Currer,
of Ilkley, married a namesake, Dorothy Currer, of Langbar. A Wm.
Currer is witness to the sale of Farrand House, close by, in 1695; and
in 1716 Wm. Currer is witness to the will of a Kendall of Nessfield.
Doubtless the present house occupies the site of an older dwelling, I
am informed there was a small, low antique building which stood
within the area of the present kitchen-garden. It was always known
as the Chapel, and was pulled down nearly fifty years ago.
Farrand or Ferrand House, just mentioned, was also pulled
down and rebuilt about 1875. ^ was an early Jacobean building,
having long mullion windows with leaded panes. I have seen the
deeds of this property for the past two centuries and no Ferrands
appear to have owned or lived there within this period. But in an
indenture made in 1687 when the property was sold by John Fawcett,
of Haverah Park, gent, to Francis Bradley, of Stainburn, in the
parish of Kirkby Overblow, yeoman, there is a reference to a piece
of newly enclosed land, formerly part of the Upper Wood, which was
had in exchange from one Peter Currer by Thomas Ferrand, deceased.
The dwelling is there called Hog Close House and is always
described by this name in deeds of transfer and sale down to 1740.
There was about eight-and-a-half acres of land attached to it. The
property was eventually bought by Major Briggs and on his death, a
century ago, was inherited by his daughter Mary, wife of Wm. Pullan,
whose grandson, Mr. Walter Pullan, of Langbar, is the present owner.
The Ferrands were a family of some consequence in these parts,
and in the days of Queen Elizabeth resided at the good old mansion
of West Hall in the valley below Langbar. William Ferrand, who
built Carlton Hall, near Skipton, in 1584, whose descendants are now
represented by the large land-owning family at St. Ives, Bingley, had
two sons, Thomas, the elder, of Carlton, and William, the younger,
of West Hall. But in the Skipton registers are entries of the baptism
and burial on the same day, March 3ist, 1600, of Thomas, son of
Wm. Farrand, of Carlton, the younger ; and again on April i5th, 1601,
there is entered the baptism of Mary, daughter of Wm. Farrand, of
Carlton, the younger. William, senior, died at Carlton in 1601, when
it would appear Thomas succeeded him at Carlton and William took
up his residence at West Hall by the Wharfe. The Ilkley registers
contain several entries of baptism of children of Wm. Ferrand, of
West Hall, and of his two wives, Anne and Brigita, who were buried
from West Hall at Ilkley, the former in 1621 and the latter in 1624.
I find also that an Ellenora Ferrand was married at Ilkley to Thomas
Maude of Bingley parish, Aug. 3oth, 1614.* In a compotus for
* This Thomas Maude is not in the Visitations, but there is no doubt he was the
son of Arthur Maude of Riddlesden, and is mentioned in the will, dated 8 Feb. 1602, of
Thomas Maude, of Hollinghall. The above Thomas Maude married secondly Elizabeth,
daughter of Richard Brighouse, of Bradford.
259
1610, which I h;i\c seen at Bolton Abbey, William Ferrand, gent.,
appears as officer and collector of rents for the Clifford*' estates at
N'esslield and Langbar, no doubt the Ferrand of \\'est Hall. Thomas
Ferrand succeeded his father at West Hall, and a son of his was
buried at Ilkley, A 1114-. ist, 1639. He is no douht the one mentioned
on the last page as owning land at Langbar, and in all probability
the builder of I-'errand House. He died in 1076. In the Ilkley
registers I find a John Ferrand, gent., of West Hall, buried April jth,
1673. How long the family continued to reside here is not certain,
but a century ago it was in the occupation of a worsted spinner
named Midgley. The old hall with its timber window-sills, has long
been a farmhouse and has a good acreage of land attached.* Not
very far from it is the charming dell, with waterfall, called Black
Foss, and the upland country round about is thoroughly rural and
retired, and rises with ever-expanding views to the Beacon.
The conspicuous Beacon House is quite a modern mansion,
built in 1848 by the late Mr. Bern'. Briggs Popplewell on a site known
as Brass Castle, suggestive of some guard-house to the Roman road.f
His family on both sides has resided in the neighbourhood for fully
two centuries. (See pedigree on page 260). A long elevated tract of
land on the south side of the Beacon is marked on the Ordnance Map,
Popplewell Ridge, no doubt after some former owner of this side of
the moor. The late Major Briggs belonged a good deal of land in
this locality, which at the time of his death was divided between his
only son, by his first wife, and three daughters, by his second wife.
The eldest daughter Ellen Briggs, married Matthew Pullan, whose
brother William Pullan of Langbar, married another daughter, Mary,
the third, Susannah, being the wife of Benj. Popplewell, of Guiseley,
malster, father of the late Mr. Benj. Briggs Popplewell, above
mentioned. Mr. Popplewell took great interest in all works of a
philanthropic and charitable nature, and was one of the original
promoters and largest contributors towards the erection of the Ilkiev
Hospital. He married Hannah, daughter of the late Mr. John Sharp,
of Bingley, who died at the Beacon House early in 1898 in her goth
year. Shortly before her death she generously gave the sum of £200
to the Bradford Children's Hospital for the endowment of a
"Popplewell Cot" in that institution.
Mr. Popplewell was an enthusiastic pedestrian and few men
engaged in business life performed such remarkable feats of walking
as he did. He had a more than ordinary belief in the efficacy of
long country walks as a restorative and builder of the constitution.
Before the railway to Ilkley was opened in 1865 he was accustomed
Set riianptiin Corrt-xp. (Camden Soc.) p. rxxvi.
I Then- is ;ilso another " Brass (.'astir' on tin- moor above thr Lower Harden
reservoir!
260
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to walk daily from his house on the Beacon to Steeton station, and
hack again in the evening, climbing the long road through Silsden to
Addingham and thence up the brow two miles to the Beacon, a
distance out and home of fourteen miles, and this was done continually
for many years, fair weather or foul ! So punctual was he in this
daily performance that I am told many people in Silsden set their
BENJAMIN BRIGGS POPPLEWELL, ESQ.
clocks by him. When the days were excessively hot he usually
walked with his coat thrown over his arm, clad in the whitest of
shirt-sleeves, the envy of many a Silsden housewife as he passed up
and down the long main street. Sometimes when the skies of winter
looked threatening or snow lay deep upon the ground, his good wife
262
would send the carriage and horses to meet him at Steeton station.
But to no purpose. The carriage was invariably sent back empty,
and he would push along all the way home, often through a blinding
storm of sleet or snow, and many a difficult task he encountered when
the old lane leading up to the Beacon was choked with the drifts.
The house which he built on the Beacon is, notwithstanding its
elevated situation a charming place, being well protected in the rear
with large thriving plantations backed by still ascending moorlands.
From the front of the house there is a marvellously grand view. The
pleasant grounds and gardens around the mansion are of great extent
and are most ingeniously laid out. Paths are formed on the slope or
along levelled terraces, turning and dropping most unexpectedly, with
curious grottoes and alcoves formed out of the natural rock, while
here and there are revealed beautiful prospects over the far-extending
valley. In summer time the open parterres and rockeries contain a
surprising amount of bloom.
Of not less interest is the admirably fitted-up interior of the
house. Especially noteworthy is the superb Elizabethan black oak
furniture, which has been a family possession ever since it was made.
It bears the initial 'P' and the unusually early date ' 1569.' A fine
old grandfather's clock has been made out of a piece of the family
furniture, having original Elizabethan carved panels, while the clock
itself is one of the celebrated Wensleydale make, being inscribed
" James Ogden."* There is also an almost unique collection of old
pewter plates and dishes, and an original delf-rack. Some of the
pewter bears the family initials of Briggs and Popplewell. An old oak
box from Windsover has carved upon it, R.W.A.G. 1688, having
belonged originally most probably to a Gill.
For about thirty years one of the rooms of the house was fitted
up for Sunday services in connection with the Parish Church at
Ilkley. The services were held every other Sunday in summer, and
in winter on the two Sundays nearest the full moon, and they always
received the generous assistance and support of Mrs. Popplewell and
of her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Popplewell, the
present owners. The curate usually came up from Ilkley, a duty that
in latter years fell upon the Rev. W. H. S. Hartley, now vicar of
Morton. During the three years that Mr. Hartley took these
services, he was only once prevented by deep snow from fulfilling the
fortnightly mission, though many a rough experience he and his past
coadjutors must have had in journeying to and from Ilkley by the
wild moor road under the Beacon. When the church was built at
Nessfield in 1892 the services at Beacon Hill were discontinued.
The Wesleyans have also had a place of worship at Langbar
now many years, and it would be hard to find a place so lonely and
*See the author's Richmondshlre, pag-e 455.
263
exposed as that on the moor edge where the old chapel stands. A
neat new building of corrugated iron, lined with wood, has lately
been erected on a better site, and was formally opened on July icth,
1899, by the Rev. Silvester Whitehead, when nearly 200 persons sat
down to tea provided in a marquee adjoining the chapel. It was a
red-letter day in the annals of local Wesleyanism, and the occasion
will long be remembered.
I might go on page after page describing every other house,
together with the old yeoman families who have been born and
reared on this grand old moorland brow, but space forbids. Black
Hill farm, Wards End, and Dene Head, the old home of the Priors,
where John Prior, the clock-maker (whose family were in the same
OLD WESLEYAN CHAPEL, LANGBAR.
trade at Skipton), made his wonderful astronomical clock, and Ling
Park, a home of the Kendalls for generations, have each and all a
history to relate. The pedigree on next page shews the descent of
the Kendalls of Ling Park for about a century. They are one of the
most numerous old yeoman families in Wharfedale, long resident in
the parishes of Leathley, Askwith, Ilkley and Bolton Abbey. As
long ago as 1278 a William de Derley and Roger de Kendale appear
in a plea of rent in place of William de Wyndsore, against the Abbot
of York.* The last of the family who lived at Ling Park was old
Andrew Kendall who died about ten years ago, leaving some
daughters who soon afterwards gave up the farm.
* Assize Roll 7th Kdw. I.
264
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CHAPTER XVIII.
NESSFIELD.
Meaning <>f Nesslk'ld — C'astlrl><-ri,r, a prehistoric camp — Local discoveries — Low Mill
Scar — Norman land-cultivation — Plumpton family — Manor-house and mill — Old
homesteads — John Prior, clock-maker — The Kendalls and Nessfields — The new
church — The swing-bridge.
ESSFIELD-with-Langbar forms one township in the old
parish of Ilkley. The first-named village may be
reached from Ilkley by a pleasant walk of two miles,
keeping the river on the left beside the green expanse
of the golf-links.* Round about it are flowery lanes
and lush pastures, where cows are kept browsing well into the winter,
and provide much of the sweet milk that is consumed by the
increasingly populous town of Ilkley. Pleasant woodlands and gill-
becks resonant with the music of leaping rills, cover and indent the
sunny slopes of the wide uplands that sweep northwards to the
historic Beacon. Cosily nestles the little hamlet beneath embowering
trees and sheltering crags, and I have seen the name, probably for
this reason, sometimes written Nestfield. But there can be little
doubt it is derived from the A.-S. nces-hleoth, or ti(?s-feld, the cape-like
ascent and cliff overhanging the Wharf, whose verdant slope is
doubtless the oldest bit of cultivated land in the township.
Locally it is known as Castleberg, and I am disposed to think
it was a winter-station of the old Britons of Howber, and afterwards
of the Teutonic settlers. An urn containing ashes has been found on
the site, and Mr. James Pickard, who has long occupied the adjoining
farm, tells me he has excavated several parts of it and found human
bones, but no relics. This premises Anglo-Saxon interments and the
urn late British, but the few discoveries hitherto made are insufficient for
historic proof of any particular people. No interments are known to
have been made on the site since Norman times. Whitaker writing
in 1805, holds the enclosure to be Roman and says that a massive
key of copper, nearly two feet in length, which was found here has
probably been the key of the castle-gates. One would like to know
what purpose a Roman camp at this point would serve? Formed on
a natural hill and following the configuration of the lofty and abrupt
* A member of the Ilkley Golf Club, Miss K. Gascoigne Moeller, is proved by her
numerous successes to be one of the best lady players in the kingdom. In the Spring
of 1000 she won both the long and short course competition at St. Annes against all
comers, which included several well-known champions.
266
scar which constitutes an impregnable front on the Wharfe side, the
camp is rudely rectangular, and has been protected by a double
stockade and intervening trench on its eastern or most accessible side.
At the south-east angle is a circular depression, about thirty yards in
circumference, with a low mound in the middle which looks like a
burial circle, probably where the urn was found. At the northern
extremity is an observatory or watch-mound, which the denuding
effects of rain and the weather are gradually altering. At the south
end is a depression about six yards square, and on the east side
behind the uppermost (stockaded) rampart are several horse-shoe
shaped hollows, with their back parts formed out of the sloping
earthen bank, after the usual design of Celtic housesteads. Their
backs are against the north-west, from which quarter the storms down
the valley usually blow, while they are open to the east, or that side
requiring most vigilance and protection.
This ancient elevated encampment is opposite the Low Mill,
Addingham, and is generally spoken of by Addingham folk as Low-
Mill Scar. Its precipitous face is thickly wooded, and I am told that
formerly this natural thicket was a well-known haunt of adders and
hag-worms, which might often be found as much as a yard in length.
Bats, butterflies, and glow-worms were likewise to be seen in great
numbers, making the place a favorite resort of old-time natives, who
found questionable diversion in capturing and killing or carrying off
as many as they could.
At the Conquest Nacefeld, as it appears in Domesday, was a
manor comprising three carucates of land for geld where two ploughs
may be. It was held by our old Teutonic friend, Gamelbar, who had
to give it up to William de Percy, who in the final adjustment of A.D.
1086, is stated to hold two carucates in Nacefeld. The probability
is there were three carucates, like the Percy lands at Askwith and
Ilkley, worked in the same amomalous manner each by two ploughs.
I have already explained that where the three-field system of cultivation
prevailed, the most common method in Wharfedale, the carucate of
Domesday consisted of 180 acres, of which 120 acres annually paid
tax and the third part lay fallow and paid no tax. So that in a
manor of three carucates worked on the three-field system there were
540 acres under cultivation.
The above dispossession did not bring with it, as one might
suppose, complete annihilation of local interest. There was living at
Nessfield before the Normans came, one Orm, brother to the Eldred
of Domesday, and Peter, son of this Eldred, assumed the name of
Plumpton, on his coming into possession, as mesne lord of Gamelbar's
manor of Plumpton near Knaresboro'. Sir Peter most likely also
succeeded to his uncle Orm's estate at Nessfield at the same time,
inasmuch as this family, though deprived of the first interest in the
soil, remained virtually lords of the manor of Nessfield for centuries.
267
The Plumptons were also landlords in other parts of Wharfedale.
notably at Grassington. They erected a manor house at NY ss field
and held their courts here, and their tenants were obliged to- grind
their corn at the lord's mill. In 1280 Robert de Plumpton obtained
by royal grant the right of free warren within his lands at Xessfleld.
Ik' also obtained license to establish a chapel here on condition that
In- gave a pound of frank incense annually to Ilkley Church.
Richard Plumpton, son of the unfortunate Sir Wm. Plumpton, who
is buried at Spofforth, may have resided at Nessfield. He made a will
dated 1443, and left no issue.* His grand-nephew, William Plumpton,
married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas, Lord Clifford, but he fell on
Towton field, fighting for the Red Rose and left no male issue.! His
daughter Margaret wife of Sir John Roucliffe, of Cowthorpe,
succeeded to the estate and thence through the Cliffords the manor
of Nessfield now belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. But a fine
entered in 1587 shews that the manors of Nessfield, Westhall, and
Langbar had passed to John Morley Esq., from the buccaneering
George, Earl of Cumberland, who also about the same time mortgaged
all his tenements at Grassington. This was just previous to the Earl's
sailing against the Spanish Armada, in the defeat of which he took
a conspicuous part. In 1593 he appears as plaintiff against Edward
Talbot Esq., for the recovery of the said manors and twenty messuages
ten cottages, with lands and a rent of one pair of gloves in the same
and in Ilklev, Addingham, and Beamlsey. I have seen a compotus
of Francis, Earl of Cumberland, dated 1610, wherein it appears the
the rents and farms of the tenants at Nessfield and Langbar yielded
half-yearly £10 175. 2C\. Long and favorable leases had been lately
granted to some of the tenants, who were thus raised to the status of
yeoman proprietors. Their forbears in pre-Reformation days had
been little better than serfs to the monasteries, but who now throve
mightily on what the old monks had lost, and who also began to
erect substantial homesteads for themselves and their families.
The descriptive writer who calls every striking i7th century
farmstead in our dales, — no matter how late in the century the style
may be — " a fine old Elizabethan mansion," cannot surely have
reflected on the history of the times. All these yeomen-built houses
of the better-class in our dales are the product of the more general
agricultural benefits of the i7th century, and such Elizabethan
buildings as remain, to except the houses of the gentry and public
schools, must be mere cottages, perhaps re-roofed or enlarged. At
Nessfield there is a picturesque i7th century farmhouse of this
description, which is additionally interesting from the- fact that it
holds the first clock that John Prior, the celebrated mechanician, ever
made. I have already mentioned this eminent local clock-maker.
* See Plumpton Correspondence page xxxiii. t Ibid p. xcii.
z68
He received considerable rewards from Government besides valuable
medals from the Royal Society, for his great improvements in this
industry. The clock at Nessfield is not unlike the famous and
important one in the Greenwich Observatory, by which the nation
regulates its time.
Among the older yeoman families in this neighbourhood are
those of Petty, Lowcock, Kendall, &c. Ralph Kendall, of Nessfield,
who made his will in 1716, bequeathed dwelling-houses, barns,
lands and tenements that he bought of Jonathan Fort in the
townfields of Nessfield, also land he bought from William and
Richard Bullock called Priest Ridding. His son Richard Kendall,
born in 1708, lived at the old farm of Grassgarths in the parish of
Weston, where the Kendalls had resided since the Reformation, and
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY HOUSE, NESSFIELD.
was father of the first Richard Kendall of Norwood, as well as
ancestor of Samuel Pullan who lived at Hardisty Farm in Langbar
a century ago.
Five centuries ago there were at least a score families living at
Nessfield, and in 1378 the Poll Tax gives the name of Nicholas de
Scardeburghe, esquire, as the principal tax payer at Nessfield. He
was of the family of Scarborough who were large landowners at
Glusburn in the old parish of Kildwick, and the said Nicholas I find
was a party to several property transactions in this parish in the
latter part of the reign of Edward III. Their old family mansion, a
restored Elizabethan house, dated 1587 (ten or a dozen years ago
when I saw it, one of the oldest house-dates in Craven, it was quite
269
legible), is still standing by the main road at Glusburn. Probably
the oldest local family, of whose original ancestory, history has no
record, is that of Nessfield or Nesfield, as the name and place are
variously spelt, and who perhaps sprung from the old Teutonic
settlers, took their name from the ancient fortified site I have already-
explained. Their name occurs in the oldest local deeds and charters,
shewing their relationship to the Plumptons, and at Bolton Abbey I
have seen a box of about a score old deeds, some of them much
tattered and decayed, all carefully mounted by a member of the
family, relating to grants and bonds made to and by various scions
of this ancient house. The family, however, appear to have left
Nessfield and to have settled at Knaresbro' in or before the time of
Edward III. From an unpublished document in the Public Record
Office I find that in 1367 a William de Nessefeld gave 20 marks for
pardon of the trespass which he made by acquiring to himself and
his heirs a certain annual rent of 10 marks issuing out of the manor
of Conyngham and the Keepership of the free chase and warren of
Kirkby Malzeard and Nidderdale from John de Mowbray, Lord of
the Isle of Axholme, who held the same of the King in chief, and
entering upon them without the license of the King. I have elsewhere
cited an indenture dated 1362 of Wm. de Nessefeld of Scotton, M.P.
for Co. York in 1368 and Ismania, his wife,* and in the Poll Tax of
1378 for the vill of Knaresburgh appear the names of Robert de
Nesfield, franklain, and his wife, taxed at 3s 4d, and of their grown-up
daughter, Imayn de Nessfeld, taxed at 4d. An influential branch
of the family was likewise settled at Flasby in Craven before the date
of this Poll Tax, A.D. 1378. One of the Bolton Abbey deeds cites a
renunciation by Thomas son of William Grandorge, of all claim to
Flasby in favour of his niece, Margaret, the wife of William Nesfield,
36th Edward III (1362). A pedigree of the " Nasfields of Flasby"
appears in the Harleian Society's Publications, vol. 16. The present
representatives of the family trace their origin to the neighbourhood
of Londesborough in the East Riding, the old seat of the Cliffords.
The church at Nessfield, previously referred to, is a very neat
edifice in the Early English style, with seat accommodation for 120
worshippers. It occupies a site given by the Duke of Devonshire,
and the building was consecrated by the Bishop of Richmond on
August 25th, 1892.
Much more might be written on this retired little place, its
bygone worthies and old-time " characters," did space permit. The
long swing-bridge over the Wharfe connecting the place with
Addingham was erected about four years ago. Before it was put up
communication with the two sides of the river was by way of Bolton
or Ilkley bridges, a journey of some miles to or from Addingham.
.S'cc tlu- author's Xiddvrdalc, pag'f 337.
CHAPTER XIX.
PRE-NORMAN ADDINGHAM.
Banishment of an Archbishop of York to Adding-ham in A.D. 870 — Abounding' pre-
historic sites — Discovery of a bronze spear-head Roman road through Addingham
— The coaching' days — Close House Roman camp on Counter Hill— Prehistoric
tumulus — Ancient boundaries— Curious field-names — Local discoveries.
;-^f ONG before the first historic mention of Addingham in
the ninth century, when the Christian Archbishop of
York was banished to "Hatyngham in valle quae
vocatur Hwervedale," by the pagan Danes (A D 870),
the district, as I have amply shewn in the chapter on
Rumbalds Moor, had been one of the most important centres of
religious life in the north. The Danish ravages put an end to the
public worship of Almighty God over a great part of Yorkshire and
many devout Christians must then have found their way to this
ancient stronghold of the faith, there to find safety and shelter among
the sacred, protective rocks of St. Rumolds' Moor. What strife there
was hereabouts in these early days of Roman and Saxon and Dane,
history does not recount, and we are left to put together as best we
can the story as it is revealed to us in the remains of ancient dike
and camp and mound. Year by year have I been in this locality
until my note-books are full of various reminiscences ; of notes and
plans of earthworks, camps, and cairns and ancient sites in and
about this interesting parish, that to tell the story of Addingham
from its first occupation would absorb a whole volume. Some time
ago when I was looking at an old bronze spear-head which had been
picked up some twenty-five years ago by a man called Young Steele,
of Addingham, who found it sticking out of the beck-side not far
from the bar-house on the Lippersley side of the Silsden road below
the Roman camp, what images of contesting forces, of feud and
warfare did not that old relic awake! Yet long before the sturdy
soldier from ancient Rome had borne that weapon of bronze through
old Addingham, there had been natives of the place who had used
weapons and implements of stone and flint before bronze was known
in these parts in the first century A.D.*
Many an ancient trod of the early Britons, paved in the after-
times for public service, traverses the parish, the most important of
* It must not be assumed that bronze was not known in England before this date,
as Caesar distinctly asserts (vide Lib. v. 12) that bronze was imported into this country
in his time, 60-44 B-c-
27*
these being the present Street, which runs by Gildersber* and Street
House over the moor by the Roman camp on Counter Hill towards
Skipton. I have followed this road (which is now disused over a
great part of the way), from Addingham over Draughton Heights to
the old castled town of Skipton, between which place and the camp
at Broughton it is lost. Precious little can be seen now of the work
originated by the Romans, as in the last century the road was
re-made and widened for the coaches to ply their weary way over
these wild moorland heights between Skipton and Long Addingham.
A very old and neglected mile-stone stands by the Draughton road
side and is marked, "To Skipto" 3 m. To Addinghani 2 m."
seeming to mourn the departed glory of this old coach ing-way.
Another stone pillar stands in the field about 100 yards to the east
of it, and close by the Roman road, but why placed there I know
not. It has been marked with the letters "J.C." on its east face.t
Forty years ago the road from here to. Addingham was all open
moor, and it was as wild and as rough a bit of coaching-route as
could be found in Britain. The old road is now fenced between
walls from 30 to 32 feet apart, and I cannot but think that the Roman
highway lay within its compass, as much of the way on either side
of it is impassable swamp, with here and there a deep, spongy beck-
course. These have been bridged with large stones and built up
with turf. To the west of the Draughton road it traverses the open
moss, forming a raised way, 18 feet wide, and ditched on each side.
Successive repairs have raised it to its present elevation of about
four feet above the ditches, and I should say a section cut across it
would disclose the Roman substratum. Further on it runs through an
enclosed plantation and into a lane again above the head of Potter
Gill, a deep, secluded ravine descending northwards to the new road
between Skipton and Addingham, and so above Close House by
Short Bank towards Skipton. This was the road that Thomas Gray,
author of the immortal Elegy, took when he journeyed from Skipton
to Otley in the autumn of 1769, and he declared Short Bank to be
the steepest hill he ever saw a road carried over in England.
I have heard some raw stories of the latter days of coaching by
this old moorland route, of horses conscious of the cruel drag before
* It may be interesting to note that in Oct. 1896, a horse died on Mr. ListerV t'arni
at Gildersber, which was found to have in its stomach a stone, 22 in. in circumference
and 12 in. long. The stone was egg-shaped and weighed 15 Ibs.
| Perhaps it is the stone mentioned in the following perambulation ot the manor ol
Silsden in i68r : " Beginning at a place called Street Gill and going from thence to a
great stone,- being in the upper end of Draughton Pasture (now in the possession of
Thomas Waynman, of Draughton) and from thence south-eastward to a well there
called Wesimbusk's Well, from thence to a place called Theefe Thorne, which divydeth
between Skipton, Addingham, and Silsden, &c." What may this "Theefe Thorne"
be? There is a Gallion Thorn at Grassington, and a Skyrethoni, a hamlet in the *ame
locality.
272
them refusing to proceed until fire and lash had done their very-
worst. Many a poor beast has dropped beneath a merciless load
in the effort to drag the ponderous vehicles through the deep ruts
of this stormy fell-side. Close House (my old ancestral home)
lay nigh this ancient highway, and many a sorry tale of storm and
adventure could a former generation of the folk that dwelt here have
told you as you sat round the glowing hearth-stone, with the wind
roaring in the ample chimney, on wild winter nights. All the gills
and crags thereabouts were the haunts of goblins, elves and fairies ,
Close House itself being under the special protection of a certain
useful fairy of whom I will tell more anon.
To return, however, to Roman Addingham. Before these
conquerors had pitched their camp on Counter Hill it had been
occupied by native Britons, and it was these primeval wiseacres of
Old Addingham who ordered the tribal divisions that still constitute
the boundaries of the parish. Running on the Silsden side, where
the Britons were strongest, by Low Marchup and Black Beck, and
across Parson Lane on the west side of Counter Hill, this Celtic
division was adopted by the Anglo-Saxon after-comers, as the A.-S.
mark, Norman-French merche, now the scattered locality of Marchup,
plainly indicates. The terminal "up," is doubtless a contraction of
hope, a small valley, as in Bramhope, Brad hope, sometimes written
Bradup. Thus we see by such names how old landmarks and lines of
demarcation are respected and retained from the remotest times. The
story of how the Romans drove the natives from this commanding
site of Counter Hill, of how debate or controversy had failed and
the sword had to be drawn, is told I think in the apparent Celtic
name of the hill (conaltradh, Celt. Irish conaltra, conversation)* as
also in the old bronze spear-head I have already mentioned, and in
the lonely isolated mound, to be seen in Parson Lane about a
hundred yards west of the Celtic boundary, Black Beck, where some
old dying chief has called his friends around him bidding them
" heap the stones of his renown that they may speak to other years."
It is a tumulus 80 feet in circumference and does not seem to have
been disturbed.
The necessity for such a Roman stronghold at this point is
obvious when it is considered that the whole of Rumbalds Moor
from the opposite side of the valley along Addingham Edge to Ilkley
was one of the strongest British positions of which we possess sure
evidence. Some idea of the size of the garrison on Counter Hill
may be obtained when it is stated that a protective earthwork has
completely environed the whole face of the hill, enclosing an area of
* Riddlesden, on the Anglo-Danish boundary of the parish of Bingley, I have
shewn to be the hill of counsel or debate. See Old Bingley page 307. Perhaps
Counterside in lonely Semerdale betokens some such debating-ground between later
conquerors and the primitive lake-dwellers.
273
at least 150 acres, an area scarcely less than that embraced by the
High Close encampment at Grassington. There have been two
fortified or stockaded camps, one of which when broken up contained
a number of rude stone lire-places. The other known as "Round
Dykes" is thickly overgrown with ling, but its outline is almost as
perfect as when made seventeen or eighteen centuries ago. The form
bespeaks a rather late date, having the characteristic angles, which
makes the ordinary straight-sided rectangle into an octagon, giving it
the appearance superficially of a round or oval. Its dimensions are
based on the most approved form of Roman castrametation, the
length being one-third greater than the breadth, namely sixty yards
wide and eighty yards long. A watch-mound has been thrown up
within the south-west angle, and the whole camp defended with a
double rampart having an intervening ditch. There is an old and
excellent spring of water on the east side of the camp, the site having
been well chosen, commanding as it does, a splendid view of the
valley and Street* as it runs southward to Olicana.
This is all within the watershed of the Wharfe, which reaches up
to the Draughton road from Silsden a little above High Marchup, an
old home of the Breare family. At Hollindrakes farm the rain water
from the roof of the dwelling drains into the Wharfe, while that from
the roof of a barn adjoining the west end of it is drained into the
Aire. Parson Lane, above mentioned, is laid at an elevation of 760
feet above sea-level and was the old road between Silsden and
Addingham before the present excellent highway was made in 1826.
It is doubtless a very ancient right of way, though not used now,
running just below Counter Hill, and is paved in places with large
square stones for the use of drovers and foot passengers.! But what
a road in the old times for vehicles! O! if those stones could speak!
The road below Counter Hill has within recent years been
enclosed, formerly it was all open to the Moor. The lane terminates
in the terrible old coach-road to Skipton, above described, and opposite
to Cross Bank farm. A man named Lowcock who has lived for nearly
half-a century at the farmhouse below, tells me he used often to
plough up lumps of iron scoriae near the old Roman Street, the
remains no doubt of Roman smelting works. The farm below is
called Causeway End, and the fields attached to the farms here are
called Hownas (pron. as how) or Howness, in which is a long
artificially-formed earthern bank running east and west for about 100
yards and thrown up about three feet above the ground-level. The
* The Street gave name to a local family which still exists in the neighbourhood.
In 1371 a complaint was made against John del Strete [John of the Street] and others
for obstructing a road from Brerehaugh Thorpe to Brerehaugh Grange. See Yorks.
Arch.Jl., Rec. Ser. xvii-ii5.
t In the Addingham Township Books I find an entry under date, 1747, of £2 paid
"lor eij;-lltrvM roods of C'a\v«'\ oil yc Moor."
274
origin or purpose of it is not known. There is also an extensive
range of land in three several tenancies, called Haidness or Adeness,
with a gill-beck beside it called Adeness Gill, adjoining Hownas, and
this Adeness is a piece of "gated" uncultivated land, comprising
eight-and-a-half cow-gates to the three tenants who occupy it, and
near it is a two-acre pasture called Simon Close. Whether this is the
Celtic Simon, explained in the account of Simon Seat, I cannot
positively say. There are also many other ancient sites, camps, dikes,
roads and ramparts, which I must leave unnoticed for the present.
CHAPTKK XX.
ALL ABOUT AnniM.iiAM I<ROM TIII NUKMAN CONMJI !•,->!.
l.itllc hitherto recorded ;ilx>iu Addinghum Addin^liain in Cumberland I )omesda\
testimony Meaning of Addingham Historic evidence-; The Halll<- cit Modden
The Reformation A local martyr The Parish Church Local families A
centenarian Remarkable discoveries -Titlie-harn K\cnt* at Addingham during
the Civil \\'ar Abstracts from the old parish books Pinfold and ducking-stool
Petty Sessions Old customs Some old houses The old School The manor-house
1 ufieldllall Local Nonconformists Old trades The power-loom riots.
KYOXD the few paragraphs recorded by Whitaker little
has ever been printed about this interesting old parish,
whose written evidences antecede the Conquest of A.D.
1066. There is, by the way, another Addingham, in
Cumberland (where are some fine early stone crosses),
but as Cumberland (being then not in England), is not reviewed in the
Conqueror's great survey, we have no contemporary mention of this
place. In Domesday our Wharfedale Addingham is described as
Ediham, where one Gamelbar, a large landowner in Yorkshire, had
two carucates of land to be taxed, sufficient for one plough. He was
deprived of this and the property was given by the Conqueror to one
of his followers, Gislebert Tison, who in 1086 had three villanes or
tenants in bondage and one bordar or cottager there with two ploughs
and two acres of meadow. There was also an extensive wood.
During the gallant strife between the original owners and the Norman
invaders the place had been well-nigh ruined, and the value of the
estate reduced by nearly one-half. So the record tells us. The King
retained one carucate to himself, calling it a royal manor, thus we
had a manor within a manor. In the final adjustment of the survey
the King is stated to hold one carucate and Gislebert Tison one
carucate, while both carucates were stated to belong to the great fee
of Bolton (Abbey), that had belonged to Earl Edwin. Tyson's share
subsequently fell to the King. The name no doubt indicates the
home of the descendants of the original Anglian owner, one Eddi ' ; the
participle ed in the name being used by the Saxon poet Caedmon in
the sense of certain continuance or regeneration. Headingley.
anciently Hedinleia, has probably the same meaning.
Addingham, which included part of Beamsley, was merged in
the great honour and fee of Skipton on its formation by grant of the
Conqueror to his powerful aider in the Conquest Robert de Romille.
The latter gave Beamsley to the Mauleverers while Addingham was
granted at some subsequent early period to the Vavasours, who
27*
continued mesne lords for several centuries. The precise date of the
transfer is not known, but it would be after the forfeiture of Tyson,
temp, Henry I., and it would appear from the grant of free warren at
Addingham in 1251 to have then belonged to John le Vavasour. In
1284 three carucates in Addingham are stated to be held of the
castle of Skipton by the rent of 3^d., and in 1302 William le Vavasor
held from the lord of Skipton /#///• carucates, a marked increase due
to the rapid extension of cultivation during a very prosperous era in
the history of Yorkshire. But the weak government of Edward II.,
followed by the disastrous battle of Bannockburn in 1314, completely
subverted one of the most- progressive eras in northern history ,
starvation and bankruptcy, with their concomitants squalor and
plague, reducing the country to an ebb which took nearly two
centuries to recover.
When the poll-tax was levied by Richard II. in 1378 for carrying
on the wars with France, the people of Addingham, we may be sure
reluctantly contributed gs. iod., the sum at which the whole township
of Adyngham (so spelled) was assessed. Each married couple, and
there were twenty-nine, paid 4d., except one Wm. Manne, the fuller,
and his wife, who paid 6d. Singularly no unmarried persons are
registered at Addingham under this levy, and one is at a loss to know
what had become of all the young folk. The tax must have been a
severe strain on the inhabitants, following so soon on the Scottish
raids and the Black Death of 1350, which carried off, it is said, half
the clergy in Yorkshire.
In 1452 Henry Vavasour Esq., is stated to have held the manor
together with the advowson of the church, and with this family it
continued till 1714, when the living was presented to as a Catholic
benefice, in possession of the University of Cambridge. The Smith
family have held the manor for about a century, but by what title I
have been unable to ascertain. Richard Smith Esq., of London, is
the present lord of the manor.
During the Scottish invasion which led to the crowning battle of
Flodden in 1513, the lusty lads of Wharfedale gallantly followed the
" Shepherd Lord " to the field of victory, or as an old ballad says :
From Penyghent to Pendle Hill,
From Linton to Long Addingham,
And all that Craven coasts did tell,
They with the lusty Clifford came.
Addingham contributed nine men, of whom William Wade was able
horsed and harnessed, the others were bill-men and archers. Their
names were Henry Man, Richard Cryer, Richard Riley, Richard
Lofthouse, Thomas .Stotte, Christ. Swyer, Thomas Barker, and
John Greene.
The next great event was the Reformation, which gave unending
trouble in Wharfedale, as I have shewn elsewhere. There were two
277
houses, with appurtenances, in Addingham, which paid 8s. 4d.
annually towards maintaining the chantry of St. Nicholas in Skipton
Church, which was dissolved at this time. They then probably went
to form part of the endowment of Skipton Grammar School in 1548.
Many of the farmers and others had been largely dependent on the
neighbouring monastery at Bolton, and their livings were gone and
many were thrown on the roads. The bulk of the people prudently
and quickly became converts to the new religion, but there were
many who resolutely stuck to the faith of their fathers and had
to pay dearly for their pertinacity. One unfortunate native of
Addingham, named Richard Kirkeman, seems to have escaped the
"heresy" of the Pilgrimage of Grace, but was taken in 1582 before
Justice Wortley, two miles from Wakefield, and refusing to give up
his pious adherence to the old ways of the monasteries, was thrown
into York Castle, and brought hence to the gallows and publicly
hanged Aug. 22nd 1582, a martyr to his religion.
The church (St. Peter's) at Addingham, though not mentioned
in Domesday, is of high antiquity and doubtless owes its origin
to the munificence of one of the early Vavasours. Unfortunately not
a vestige remains of the original building, nor cross nor stone of
any kind is left to shew that God was worshipped here in Norman
centuries, as we know He was even in those far-off days when
Archbishop Wulfhere sought Christian protection from the idolatrous
practices of the Viking invaders more than a thousand years ago.
Indeed a more infamous annihilation of what must have been a
conspicuous monument of Christian antiquity, the emblem of a
heritage of which few parishes could boast, cannot surely be found in
the county of broad-acres! The church has evidently been rebuilt
under the patronage of the Vavasours early in the reign of Henry VIII,
as the windows and columns of the north aisle plainly prove. Leonard
Vavasour, of Addingham, gent., was buried in the chancel in 1598.
The arms of Vavasour also appear on one of the capitals of the piers.
The chancel was rebuilt in 1858. The tower and south side have
been wholly rebuilt in the most debased style of churchwardens' Gothic,
displaying an utter disregard of historic preception and artistic taste.
Indeed the old church has been ruthlessly shorn of all the graces of
architectural similitude, and like a bride who has lost her lover, one
half the church is left to mourn the loss of its consort.
Moreover, any interest which the internal walls has possessed
has been completely obliterated with a thick coating of lime wash,
renewed again and again. At the west end of the north wall is an
Elizabethan Scripture text, now partly lost beneath a coating of yellow
wash. Also on the west wall near the entrance from the south porch
were two ancient frescoes representing Time and Eternity, the one
holding an hour-glass and scythe and the other a torch. It was not
unusual to depict " Father Time " at the entrances of old churches,
278
as a warning to passing generations of worshippers of the fleeting
hour of mortal life, but such emblematical paintings are now rarely
seen in country churches. The figures at Addingham are life-size
and are unfortunately covered by yellow wash as well as by a modern
gallery, which was reseated about ten years ago. Moses and Aaron
were also depicted over the chancel-arch, in a position sanctioned by
the early Church to hold the two tables of commandments. These
have been also washed out. There was a similar painting on the
wainscot of the screen in Otley Church, bearing the Lord's Prayer,
the Commandments and the Creed, referred to on page 64.
There are numerous sacred memorials in the church. Within
the chancel are these :
To the Rev. Wm. Thompson, upwards of 40 years rector of Addingham, who died
Nov. 27th, 1786, aged 86 years; also Mary, his widow who died June ist, 1789, aged
75. Also Elizabeth, their daughter, who died in infancy, 1762. Also to the Rev. Wm.
Thompson, their son, who was rector of Addingham, who died Nov. 28th, 1789, aged
33, and Mary his wife who died Nov. 26th 1789, aged 22. A brass on the chancel floor
gives the date of her death as Nov. 271)1, and continues " Both buried on one day, and
in one grave, cut down in the prime of life like two beautiful flowers."
John, third son of John Cunliffe Esq., of Addingham, who d. Nov. 2nd 1804, in
his 2ist year.
John Cunliffe Esq., of Addingham, who d. March 171)1, 1^13, in his 7istyear; also
Mary his relict, and daughter of the late Rev. Wm. Thompson, formerly rector of this
place. She d. June i^th, 1834, in her 8oth year.
Wm. Cunliffe Esq., D.L., J.P., of Farfield Hall, d. loth Feb., 1823, aged 47. lit-
was the second son of the late John Cunliffe Esq., of Addingham.
Eliza, wife of Richard Parr, of Algarkirk, Co. Lincoln, and second daughter of
John Cunliffe Esq., of Addingham, who d. June 3rd, 1809, aged 31, leaving an only
daughter.
Thos. L. T. Cunliffe, Esq., youngest son of the late John Cunliffe, Esq., of
Addingham, who d. May 2nd, 1851, aged 62 years.
Thos. Thompson Pickersgill, son of John and Sophia Pickersgill, of Tavistock
Square, London, and grandson of late John Cunliffe Esq., of this' parish, who d. at
Glasgow, July i8th 1847, aged 26 years.
John Ellis Esq., of Addingham, who d. Jan. 4th, 1847, aged 70 years; also Harriet
Ellis, wife [widow] of above, who was third daughter of late John Cunliffe Esq. She d.
Dec. 3ist, 1866, aged 87.
Rev. Wm. Coates Thompson, rector of this parish for 55 years. Born March 6th,
1815. Died April 22nd, 1893. He was the younger son of the late Rev. John Coates,
grandson of the late John Cuncliffe Esq. and great-grandson of the late Rev. Wm.
Thompson.
Thomas Thompson Cunliffe Lister Esq., J.P., died June I7th, 1892, aged 71 years.
Other memorial tablets in the church are to Wm. Cunliffe Lister Esq., Barrister-
at-law and M.P. for the Borough of Bradford, eldest son of Ellis Cuncliffe Lister Esq.,
of Manningham Hall, Co. York, who d. Aug. I2th, 1841, aged 31 years.* Also of
Ellis, third son of Ellis Cunliffe Lister Esq., M.P., who d. May 2Oth, 1833, aged
20 years.
John Pickersgill Esq., of Tavistock Sq., London, and Netherne House, Merstham,
Mr. W. C. Lister had been returned M.P. for Bradford in 1841, in conjunction
with the late Mr. John Hardy, father of Lord Cranbrook, but being taken ill while on
a visit to Fartield Hall, he died there within a few weeks of his election. He was a
gentleman of considerable ability and promise.
279
Sum v, who il. Nov. i ilh, 1805, agc< 1 So years. Also of Sophia, hi- widow, youngcsi
daughter of the late John Cimliffe Kso., of thi- parish, who <1. Dec. Joth, 1874, aged
84 year--.
TluTc art- al-o sonic beautiful stained memorial windows io Rev. John C'oates, 40
vears rector of this parish, who d. Dec. i(>th 1830, aged 07 years. AKo Mary, his wife,
who d. June 6th, 1867, aged ox) years. .SVv tablet above.
John C'oates, elder son of Rev. John Coates, of Addingham, who d. June igtli,
'•S75- aged 63 years.
Anne, wife of Samuel Cunliffe Lister 1-Nq., [now Lord Masham) who died
March ^rd, 1875.
John Cunliffe Pickersgill Cunliffe, who d. Oct. 6th, 1X73, aged 54 years; also his
son, John Cunliffe, who d. June iHth, 1879, aped jq years.
Saml. Margerison Coates, who d. June ."?oth, 1861, aged io years; also Mary
Coates, d. Oct. nth, 1866, aged 14 years.
The east window of three lights is a memorial to Mills I'unliffc Lister Kay LM|., ol
Manningham, and Farfield Hall, eldest son of John C'undiffe Ksq., of Adding'ham, who
d. Nov. 24th, 185-5, in his Soth year; and also of Mary his wife, who d. March 6th,
1844. [The parents of Lord Masham].
In the churchyard is a sundial inscribed " — Topham and John
Fieldhouse, 1707." The oldest legible stone I have noted is to John
Bramley, of Gildersber, who died the last day of Sept. 1695. Another
interesting and now almost obliterated inscription commemorates
a local centenarian in the person of Mary, relict of Sylvester
Carterson, who in spite of a " variety of domestic calamities," died
in the "full possession of her faculties," Jan. 3ist, 1808, aged 101.
At the south-east part of the churchyard there is a curious old grave-
stone, uninscribed, which is said to cover the remains of some
bygone village blacksmith. It is two feet long and a foot in width
with a central trough-like aperture, in all probability the " cooling-
stone " which the old worthy had used through life.
Part of the old Church Orchard has been added to the burial-
yard on the west side, and many human bones and entire skeletons
have been found. In fact it is not possible to dig anywhere here
without finding bones. Singularly two of the skeletons were
discovered quite entire interred with their faces downward. No
relics occur with these remains. But at the east end of the churchyard
a skeleton was discovered together with a plain brass crucifix six
inches long. This was in a spot not previously disturbed. The site
has been no doubt appropriated for burial long before the first
historical records of the church. For some distance westward the land
falls, having the appearance of an artificial scarp, and at the south-
western extremity is a hollow locally known as the Monks' Fish-pond.
But I cannot learn that any land here was ever appropriated to a
monastery.
I have examined the old parish books and find an interesting
terrier of the church property dated 1781, and another dated i7,S6.
which mentions the ancient tithe-barn, with a stable adjoining the
west end, being together twenty-three yards long and six yards wide,
280
all covered with straw thatch. This old building stood on the north
west side of the present rectory, where is now the fowl-yard, and was
pulled down when the rectory was built in 1808. A list of the
incumbents has been printed from Torre in Whitaker's Craven (3rd
edit.) from the earliest recorded institution in 1279, down to the late
rector, the Rev. Wm. Coates Thompson, who died in 1893. He
was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph W. Hall, the present courteous
rector, who had been previously curate.
In the churchwardens' accounts of the parish, which extend back
to the year 1620, I have found many suggestive and interesting
items, particularly those relating to the great Civil War, which seems
to have provoked a good deal of preparation and stir in Wharfedale.
In 1628 there appears an item for carrying a letter to my Lord
Fairfax. In 1634 several payments to soldiers with passes, that is
men who had received their discharge or were incapacitated from
service, making their way home. If a man had lost his pass he was
detained until a satisfactory account of him was forthcoming. After
this such warlike entries become more numerous. Thus in 1639 I
find the following: —
Payed for three pounds of gunpowder ... ... ... ... ... vis.
Bestowed on the soulders att Morton and Silsden in ale ... iis.
For the soulders wages att that time . .., ... ... viiis.
For my charges ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... is. iiiirf.
Payed to the soulders att Rippon ... ... ... ... . .. viiis.
Payed for their wages att that time ... ... ... ... ... vis.
Payed for two sword girdles ... .. ... ... ... .... iis. viiirf.
Payed for the armes mending and a pike at Knaresbrough . . . viiirf.
Payed for oyle bottels and rushes for muskets ... ... ... iis. iiiirf.
Payed to the Captaine I3th of July att Kighley iiis. viiirf.
Payed for the soulders wages ... ... ... ... ... ... viiis.
For my charges att that time ... ... ... ... .. ... is. ii'i'id.
Bestowed on the soulders in meat and drinke ... ... ... iis. viiirf.
Given to two soulders which had a passe the xxixth of Maie, and
for a warrant att Denton the same daye ... ... ... ... xiirf.
For carriing the armor to Skipton and home again ... ... ... is.
How strange in these days of advanced warfare, of repeater rifles and
Lyddite shells, to find our ancient fathers ministering to the freedom
of England from "all foreign enemies," with "oyle bottels and rushes
for musketts"! In 1638 I find John Pulan was paid 2d. for bringing
a letter from York. In 1639 there are payments of 2d. in each case
"for a hue and crye." Some one decamped, some one wanted !
The old Addingham lock-up awaiting the capture! In 1642 more
disabled soldiers ; two with wives and children go to the Addingham
constable and get 4d. among them. Then in 1656 we find Richard
Shires is paid 2S. for conducting his "catiffe"* daughter to the Wells
* "Which I am sure you would full sore repent, If I to you her deeds should open
make, And that you should so greatly damage me, for such a wicked catlve as is she."
Harrington Orlando B. xxi.
a8i
th;it she might recover her health, and in the same year Hugh Teal
does the like journey with his "catiffe daughter." Then in 1695 there
is an official order about militia men, calling on the stalwart sons of
Addingham to provide men for the national defences. It reads : —
\\Y, the Deputy l.ieut. tor the Parts at< in-said do herein order and appoint you
Henry Wright to lincl and provide one Mifticient loot-soldier to he armed with a mus(|uet,
•md \ou \\'m. Midgli 'V one- sut'ticient soldier to he armed with a musquet, and
yiui \\rm. Bramlev one to he armed with a musquet, and you Win. Spencer one to
he armed with a musquet, and \oii Jonathan Parkinson one to he armed with a pyke,
and you \V'm. Corksliott one to lie armed with a pyke, and such other armcs as the Act
of Parliament provides, in that ease directs to the Militia of this Riding lor his Majesties
Service tor and in respect ot ve several Estates in the Constabulary ot Addingham and
that you have the several soldiers and arms in readiness for the said service, and we
furthermore order and appoint the several freeholders ot the said Township not otherwise
charged to be Contributors towards the said charge according to the proportion of their
several estates within the said Township. Given under our hands and seals this second
dav ol July Anno Dom. 1695
II. FAIRFAX
I.. PII.KINGTON
RoHKUT HKWANDS
In 1700 I find a contribution of £& ros. made by the Addingham
authorities towards building and repairing the Castle at York. This
must have been in compliance with the Act of Parliament authorising
a tax of 3d. in the pound on the county to defray the expenses of
renewing the part now called the "old buildings," erected chiefly
with stone brought from the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. In the same
year there is paid to Richard Musgrave the sum of 4S. for "ground
breaking for ye pinfold wall," and 8|d. for mending the ducking-stool.
It seems they had women scolds in Addingham at that day, who
got a sousing amid the mingled jeers and laughter of the usual crowd
of spectators. No one knows now where the old ducking-stool was
placed, and few will remember, too, the village-stocks, which stood
against the garden wall of High House, near the Fleece inn, where
Mr. Cunliffe, the local magistrate, used to sit with imperial power
endeavouring to correct, after well-judged hearing, rural reprobates
and all such violators of the common peace. At that time fifty years
ago, the public-house was the usual meeting place of the local Justices
as well as of the churchwardens for the discussion of parish business.
In 1747 it seems Aynam Bridge was chargeable on the parish, and
is. 6d. was then paid for "stooping and railing" it.* Sometimes as
much as 55. would be spent by the village tribunal in refreshments
while discussing the payment or otherwise of a is. 6d. bill. In 1747
6d. was spent on a copy of "ye Act against swearing," and ics. icd.
"spent on Holy Thursday, as usual." This was a great day in
Ascension week at Addingham and surrounding places, when the
school-children got a holiday and there was much feasting and
* In a survey made in 1752 "Addingham Bridge" is stated to he repairable by
"Addingham Town,"
282
rejoicing. Doubtless it is a survival of some forgotten custom current
in the early days of Christianity, when pilgrimages were made to
holy-wells and other sacred places on Holy Thursday. There is a
well of ancient repute in Adclingham, though no one now seems to
know what was its original purpose or virtues, save as a medicament
for sore eyes. It used to be known as Storr Hill Well, and is in
Stockinger Lane, a name with a true Norse ring about it, winding
moreover in true Norse fashion out of the Main Street up to the moor
side. In 1814 there are the usual entries for killing foxes, and also
of payments of 55. for singers, and 6s. for ringers, as well as 28. 6d.
"for singers God's Penny," and in 1825 3*. is paid for " Ringers God's
Penny," and 55. "for singing girls." This so-called "God's Penny"
was merely a deposit on account, a kind of sacred vow or obligation
made when the bargain was completed.
Years ago I was once talking in the Main Street with a
patriarchal native on old times in the village, but he cared little for
old-world life and did not seem to be very proud of the position of
Addingham among Yorkshire villages: it lacked "betterment" and
"progress," he thought, and then ejaculated "it's hed time eniff to
get on; aw've heeard mi father tell 'at Addingham wor one o't varry
first places 'at God created. Aw sud say 'at fahndations of some o't
haases are as owd as Adam, an' some on 'em leuk as if they'd
tum'led fra' t'hill sides into all sooarts o' shaps an' sitiwations.
There's noan two alike, an' when yo' want to finnd a body's front door
yo're sewer to get to somebody else's back-door asteead." The village
certainly does not appear to have derived that advantage from the
railway with a station here, which the iron-road usually brings.
Thousands of strangers visit this part of Wharfedale every season,
but they usually drive or rail through between Ilkley (3 m.) and
Bolton Abbey (2 m.) Comparatively few find it worth while to stay
here. Yet the district teems with interest; much of it, however,
belonging to the past. The older houses are mostly eighteenth
century erections, though here and there one of earlier date crops up
in the nooks and corners of the long Main Street. One of these bears
the initials and date W.H., 1730, and has a characteristic carved
door-head, shewing the evolution of the preceding Jacobean style.
Another, dated 1748, is of a similar but less pretentious character.
In Parkinson's Fold, near the church, is a dwelling-house inscribed
I.M.D. 1677, which has a characteristic door-head and chamfered
jambs. The oldest existing building bears the date 1666 over the
door, and a whole volume might be written about this venerable
little historic block. For a long, long time it was the Parish School,
and many a native of Addingham owes his start in life to the
inspiration he received beneath its humble roof. I cannot enter into
a full history of the old building, which goes back to the date of its
erection. I believe Mr. Lee was the last teacher in charge of it, he
283
being removed to the new church schools at the bottom of the village,
sometime aliout iS.|.|. 'J'he rector for the time being appears to
have been sole manager, and it seems wrongfully claimed it as church
property. Mr. Richard Sandham, who had charge of the Church
School from January ist, 1X55, to Dei ember ;}ist, 1890, tells me that
under the school-room was the village prison, and an infant class-room.
The upper room was occupied by a joiner, Edward Lister, and the
lower by a nail maker and barber. Fifty or sixty years ago (ieorge
Whitaker was the village barber, and the little lather-shop was a
well-known rendezvous of local gossips. I could tell many a tale of
the bristly-bearded hermit from Rumbalds Moor coming in for a
shave! Whitaker used to say, "Job, lad, I shall hev to chairge thee
a shillin', thou breks up t'best scrapers I hev." But this must have
been in Job's courting days; for the last years of his life his face
bristled like the fretful porcupine. The old building is now let in three
tenancies, the Parish Council having the upper room, the Conservative
Club, the lower, and a tradesman occupies the one adjoining. The
tenancies yield an annual income of about £21, half of which goes
to the Church School and the other half to the Wesleyan School.
Something might be said of other old buildings, notably of the
so-called Manor House. The house occupied by Dr, Bates now
claims the name, but Mr. Thomas Whitaker, the aged poet of
Addingham, tells me that another old house, situated near what is
called the Cross, has an equal right to the distinction, as the house
possesses an ancient importance, though now lost. But as the lords
of the manor have always been non-resident, there does not appear to
be any just claim to the title of Manor House in the historical sense of
the term. Another hardly-remembered homestead was Dockan Hall,
which stood nearly opposite Dobson's restaurant, and the house dated
1826 is on its site. Close beside it was the pinfold, above mentioned.
Among the more recent mansions is Farfield Hall situated in an
ample park, about a mile from the town. It was built from a design
made by Richard, Earl of Burlington, who died in 1753 and to whom
Pope, the poet, refers in the line, —
Who plants like Bathurst, or who builds like Boyle?
Eor many generations the old house has been the home of the
Cunliffe Lister family, whose lineage is set forth in various works.
Mr. Samuel Cunliffe Lister (now Lord Masham), whose life-size statue
erected by public subscription in 1875, stands near the principal
entrance to Manningham Park, resided here at a former period of
his life.* High House is the residence of Mr. John Coates, nephew
* Farlirld is also memorable as the birthplace of William Lang-ton, who died at
[ngatestone, Kssex, in 1881, aged 78. He was an eminent antiquary, herald and
genealogist, and took a principal part along with Richard Cobden and James Heywood
F.R.S., in the foundation of the Manchester Athena-urn in 1836. A sum of .£5000 was
raised in his honour and a memorial Lang-ton fellowship founded at Owen's College.
284
of the late rector of Addingham, and County Councillor for the Sheriff
Hutton division. Hallcroft Hall was erected in the early part of the
century, and is the residence of Mr. John G. Oddy, J.P.
The Society of Friends and Wesleyans are the two oldest
Nonconformist bodies in Addingham, the former dating from the
time of George Fox, the founder of the sect, and the latter from about
the year 1770. Under the Toleration Act the Friends obtained a
license to hold meetings in 1689. The first Wesleyan chapel was
built in 1778. Many good and able men have worked in the cause
of local Methodism, while many a true-hearted native has gone forth
from the old Wharfedale village, doing God's mission in other and
distant lands. I cannot mention all, but one worthy who has departed
this life on a distant shore was the Rev. H. F. Bland, a native of
Addingham, who died recently at Smith's Falls, Ontario. A more
thorough and earnest worker never entered the ministry ; his whole
life being one continual self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. He
won the greatest respect not only of his own people but also of his
clerical brethren, and besides discharging many and various duties
he was for three years chairman of the Canadian Conference.
I have mentioned that cloth-fulling was carried on at Addingham
more than five centuries ago, and a long chapter might be written on
the old trades of the place. Fulling, milling, tanning, currying,
tallow-chandling, and the cotton and worsted trades have all formed
active industries in the town and neighbourhood. The second
worsted mill in England, I am told, was built here by the late Mr.
John Cunliffe. But in the early part of the century the trade was
almost wholly cotton spinning and weaving and about 1830-2, there
were two mills employing nearly 300 persons here in this industry.
Before that time nearly every cottage had its loom, and in the
summer time as you walked down the principal street every door
or window was sure to be open, and the continued click-click
of the busy shuttle sounded merrily on the still air. During
that never-to-be-forgotten period of the power-loom riots in 1826,
Addingham was the scene of much disorder. Honest folk had got
the notion into their heads that power-looms were to be the ruin of
themselves and their families, and so they gathered in hundreds, and
went in large bodies from place to place for the purpose of destroying
the looms. A goodly number of the new invention had been set
up in one of the Addingham factories, and the mob lost no time
in hurrying to the spot. The greatest alarm prevailed, and the
Addingham householders were at a loss to know how to defend
themselves and their homes. A meeting was hurriedly called, and
it was resolved to close and barricade every door, while most of the
able-bodied men were to assemble in the threatened mill and defend
it and its contents to the best of their ability. Many of the women
in their terror took lumps of pottery-mould and chalk, I am told, and
2*5
\\rote on tin; outside shutters, "This house to let," and the mob on
serin- these lictititious notices supposed the town to be deserted and
so made haste to attack the mill. But I had better let Mr. Henry
Whitaker, tell the story, as he and his father were eye-witnesses of
most of the events of this stormy time. It was in May, 1826,
he says —
M\ laiher and my uncle Henry Whitaker, from Liverpool (wlm was staying" at my
native place, Greenholme, near (Kiev), called at Mr. Christopher Kemplay's, St. John's
Place, Leeds, where I was at school, and took me with them to my aunt Clarke's at
kothwell Haigh to stay all night, and told Mr. Kemplay that they would bring me
hack the following- day.
We had had .supper, and were sal round the lire in tin: dining--room (this was
about hall-past ten o'clock) when the door was suddenly opened by old James Cowgill,
who acted the part ot footman, who hurriedly exclaimed, " Please, ma'am, here's one
of the dragoons has galloped up with this," and he presenied a letter to my aunt, who
handed il over to my father, as it was addressed to him. He quickly opened it.
It proved to be a letter from our bookkeeper, Mr. Brown, dated from the
Barracks, Leeds, stating that Mr. Jeremiah Horsfall, of Farficid, had sent word that
the power-loom rioters had g-ot to Skipton, and then they were going forward to break
his power-looms in his mill at Addingham, and afterwards would proceed to demolish
those at Grccnholme mills. So Mr. Brown had ridden over to Leeds to procure the
military, and a troop of the JIH! Dragoons had just started off for Greenholme, and the
Colonel thought it right that a letter should be sent to my father, so had kindly ordered
one of the dragoons to trot up with it. Was there not consternation and alarm! — My
aunt was terribly afraid. The horse was put to the g-ig-, and my father and my uncle
started back for Greenholme.
( >f course neither I nor my aunt could sleep, for she had the impression that her
brothers might be murdered, and I anxiously waited to know the result.
It appeared, after the mills at Skipton were attacked, the mob moved on to
Addingham, where the workpeople had made much preparation to resist them. A
quantity of larg-e stones were taken up to the hig-her stories of the mill to pitch down
on the heads of the assailants should they attempt to force an entrance. Firearms
were procured, and every means taken to resist the attack, which took place in the
afternoon, when windows were broken and shots fired. One man was shot through
the fleshy part of the neck, and another, who was trying to effect an entrance by
creeping along a ledge of the building, slipped and fell into the open tank from the
privies, his being the only life that was lost, as he was smothered.
The mob were beaten off, and no doubt learning that the military would be at
Greenholme, they did not go there, but into Airedale, where various Bradford mills
were stopped. That of Messrs. T. G. Horsfall and Co. was attacked, and there one of
the rioters wa> shot dead. The Riot Act had to be read in various parts of the country,
which was in a very unsettled state for some time.
The Yorkshire Hussars were called out, and billeted in different places. The Hon.
Henry Lascelles (the late Lord Harewood, who was afterwards killed in the hunting
field, his skull being fractured in consequence of his horse falling, its foot having got
entangled in a sheep net over which it was jumping) was Captain of the Harewood and
Otley troops, which were stationed at Greenholme, and remained there about six
weeks. The place was put under military rule, guard mounted every night, and a
picket patrolled Leather Bank Lane and occasionally on the Ilkley Road. The low
buildings at the end of the old mill were converted into barracks, and many of the
horses were stabled there. The officers lived and slept at Greenholme and considered
that they had got into very comfortable quarters. Captain Lascelles was most affable
and kind, and beloved by all who knew him. In his previous military service he was
at the battle of Waterloo. He gave to my eldest brother "John" a dagger or dirk,
which he picked up in the field after the battle was over.
286
The place for some time was kept' under proper military guard,
and at Burley every precaution was likewise taken. On the left of
the bridge crossing the goit that went down to the old mill, a sentry
was posted every night; no one being allowed to go by without
uttering the pass-word, which was changed every day. The road
by the mills to Burley was also closed, no stranger being allowed
to pass, and the gate at the Iron Row was locked, and all put under
strict military rule.
One might go on recounting stories of these old times, of many
other strange affairs and of old Addingharh " characters," witches,
and wise men, of noted hunters, racers, poachers, and " eccentrics."
But this chapter must stop.
CHAPTER XXI.
ON THK EARLY HISTORY OF BOLTON.
Prehistoric evidences Bnlton, a possession of tin- Karls ot Mcrcia Conjectural royal
residence al Bolton in Saxon times Domesday inquest Superior importance of
Snavi;ill £r. to Skipton Importance ot Kmosay and Ilalton- Probable centres ot
Celtic missionary work (Jrant lo Komille aiul the building ot Skipton Castle.
O the importance of Bolton before the Norman conquest
the official record of A D. 1086 bears ample testimony.
Some extensive clearances must have been made on
the Anglian settlement as it became the capital of an
extensive manor and parish known to this day as the
Saxon Cure. Before that time the native Britons had, as usual,
camped on the hill slopes and even summits of the surrounding moors,
as the valley at this time was a vast and intricate forest, the lurking
place of many dangerous beasts of prey. Few traces of the ancient
British inhabitants survive in the immediate neighbourhood of Bolton.
I have examined the local field-maps, and with the exception of
Brown Hill and Black Hill, already explained, and perhaps Can Hill,
original Celtic place-names have been totally forgotten. This Can
Hill may be like Pen Hill and Pendle, a duplication of alien tongues,
equivalent to the Cym. -Celt, pen, Goidelic fan, a hill summit. Kinnel,
near Abercorn, for example, Bede tells us was called Penfahel by the
ancient Picts, and Kinnel is the Gaelic Celtic equivalent, the Celts
using a k or hard c, where the Cymric Britons used a / or b.
Ceanmore or Kenmore being the same word as Benmore, the great
head. Can Hill, rising above the road to Ilkley, may have a like
meaning.*
This absorption of the Celtic element on the Anglian conquest,
shews how thoroughly Anglian the district was, and how feeble and
evanescent the Celtic overlap. We must go to outlying places in the
parish for the little we know of the prehistoric races of Bolton.
There are traces of ancient housesteads in the Stank Pasture, and
formerly there existed evidences of cromlech-burials, but not a trace
of these is now to be found. The tombs consisted of two upright
stones with another laid horizontally upon them, and one of these,
on the edge of the moor between Barden and Embsay, was opened
in the early part of this century. In it was found a bronze tore of
the kind described by Mr. Birch as the beaded tore, formed in two
portions, one part representing the string, being slightly elastic and
* See Bishop Browne's Conversion of the Heptarchy, p. 137.
adjusted to the beaded portion by means of pins or tenons fitting
into corresponding sockets, so as to enable the wearer readily to
remove it from his neck. It is ornamented with twelve knobs chased
with zig-zag lines, and apparently formed in imitation of the vitrified
beads ornamented with undulating lines frequently found in British
tumuli. A few barrows also lie scattered about the hill-sides, some
doubtless obliterated, while a few others have apparently not been
disturbed. One of these Mr. Thos. Roose, the interesting gardener
at Bolton Abbey, opened in October, 1894. He tells me the mound,
which is situated at High Hare Head (975 ft.) between Halton and
the low reservoir, yielded an urn containing burnt bones with charcoal,
and a small quartz pebble. While excavating a hammer-stone of
chert was also found. The urn was about ten inches in height and
rudely ornamented around its upper surface with zig-zag lines.
Another barrow, apparently never examined, lies about 100 yards to
the north of the one described. All these are late Celtic.
The compotus of Bolton Abbey tells us that despite the Anglian
conquest and subsequent destruction of the larger beasts of prey, wolves
were still numerous in the Abbey woods as late as the i3th century
and the Bolton Abbey accounts shew that rewards were given for
wolf-slaying in 1306. Truly it must have been a "howling wilderness"
in the days of the Saxon huntsmen, and when Edgar, King of Mercia
and Northumbria, lorded this wild domain (A.D. 975) he exacted a
yearly tribute of 300 heads of wolves for three years from the Brit-
Welsh King Idwal. Bolton then formed part of the large possessions
of the Earls of Mercia, and before 1066 was inherited by Edwin, son
of Leofwine, Earl of Mercia, and younger brother to Leofric, husband
of the famous Lady Godiva. This nobleman is stated by Whitaker
to have had a residence at Bolton, which after the completion of the
Domesday survey, had fallen into ruins. The name Bodeltone
together with the testimony of Domesday seems to justify this
assertion, but the site of the burgh, or botl cannot now be more than
conjectured. The manor of Bolton was however but a fraction of
this great lord's possessions at the time of the Norman invasion.*
Whether he was ever here no one knows. Whitaker thinks it probable
there was a parish church here too, in the days of the same Earl
Edwin. Assuredly the existence of a parish premises the presence of
a priest and a church, wherever that church may have been. But
there is neither stone nor mortar at Bolton Abbey than can be proved
to be of older date than the original foundation of the Priory in
1154-5. It is often stated that the Priory was grafted on a pre-existing
parish church. Probably there would be a chapel attached to the
Saxon manse, but in a district so heavily timbered, doubtless it was
of wood. On this subject I will speak in the next chapter.
* See the author's Richmondshire, pp. 40-45.
289
I. rt inr now turn to tin; Donu^day record of \.n. 10X0.
M. \\IIK. In Uodeltone (Holton) Karl Kclimin had six caru< al.-- of land tor j,'«-ld.
/;, i, .v/< k.\. In AliiMH- ( I l.ilimi Ka-t) six farm-ait-.. In Embesie (Embsay) three carucates
inland and ttin-r fariifatcs yoke. In 1 )rai- lone ( I )rani;ht< in ) thre • earueate- ; Sfiprdi-n
(Skibeden) three carurati^ ; Sfiploni- (Skiplon) tour fanieates; Snaehehale (Snayj,rill)
six eariifates ; Tin edderebv (Thorlby) tt-n earueates.
.\,ik,\ Hedmesleia (Heamsley) two fanieates; I lolnic ( I lolnir) thrrc canicatesj < Jcrr^raiii-
((lari^rave), three fanifates ; Staintonr (Stainton) three earueates ; ( )ding-i-hrm
(Addinj^ham) two earuraU-s; Otreburne (( Mterburn) three carucates; Scotorp (ScOSthrop)
three rarueate-; Malgim (Malliam) three farm-ate^; Conej|hestone (Cold Collision)
three carucales ; Helj;cteld ( I lellilield) three farneates ; Anleie) (Anley) two earueatev ;
llan^elil (ilanlilli) three carucates.
Together there were 41 carucates, or with the enfranchised vills
or outlying places which owed suit of court to Bolton, there were 77
carucates. As the number of ploughs is not given it may be assumed
they were worked on both the two-field and three-field shift, so that
we may safely strike an average of 170 acres to the carucate and
thus come at the grand total of 13,090 acres under cultivation within
the lordship of Bolton in 1066. Of this arable area from one-third to
one-half annually lay in fallow. The extent of woodland is not
stated , it was not taxed. Within twenty years distress had become
so acute it was useless levying taxes. Perhaps there was hardly an
inhabitant left to tell the tale of famine and slaughter, so trenchant
were the Norman ravages, for the melancholy record of 1086 is that
these extensive and prosperous domains are " all waste."
From this picture of local aspects in 1066-86, some useful
inferences may be drawn of the large share of prosperity enjoyed by
the then important centres of population, but which have now
degenerated to mere hamlets or even single farms. Such, for example,
are Snaygill, Thorlby and Anley, while Skipton, which became the
head of the barony shortly after the Conquest, was a mere collection
of shepherds' huts, and possessed not half the rateable value or
importance of Thorlby. Embsay and Halton were also conspicuously
populous places, and both had notable religious associations. All the
Haltons within the old kingdom of Strathclyde appear to have been
places of early religious consequence, and are mentioned in Domesday.
In all probability they were the chosen centres of the Celtic missionary
work of St. Hilda and St. Heiv in the 7th century ; sometimes we
find them written Heldetune, that is Hilda's town, or as in the case of
our Bolton Halton, Altone, perhaps from the A.S. alter-ton, that is
altar-town. At Halton, near Lancaster, are some notable early
crosses.
The whole of the possessions above named constituted the
Saxon fee* of Earl Edwin in these parts, and when the Conqueror
* In British times the cow was the standard of value, and three cows were equivalent
to one female slave. The Anglo-Saxons also used the word feoh, cattle, in a similar
manner, to indicate property or wealth, hence our word fee.
290
granted the same to his Norman follower, Robert de Romille, the
latter chose Skipton as the centre and head of his barony, and there
commenced the stone castle, which afterwards enlarged, still looks
over the old Norman capital. Bolton henceforward became part of
the great honour and fee of Skipton, and so continued until the
dissolution of the Priory in 1539. In 1542 the estate was sold to
Henry, Earl of Cumberland, and Bolton became a chapelry attached
to Skipton Parish Church. The parish included the townships of
Bolton Abbey, Barden, Hazlewood-with-Storiths, Beamsley-in-Skipton,
Halton, and a part of Draughton. In length it is about nine miles,
and its greatest width is about seven miles, extending from Black
Hill (the old Celtic boundary I have mentioned) on the east, and
Crag House on the west. As I have said the existing evidences of
the British occupation of Bolton are extremely meagre, nor are we
warranted in pressing the matter of place-names. In a name like
Cat Gill, some may fancy they see the Celtic cat/i, a fort, but I
have elsewhere pointed out that payments were formerly made in
Wharfedale for the capture and slaughter of wild cats, a dangerous
and crafty creature quite as much to be dreaded as the wolf, with
which animal this district was also much infested. I have met with
no particularly early mention of Cat Gill, but in an indenture at
Bolton Hall, dated 1610, I find the place written as now "Catgill",
the mansion and land being then in the tenure of one John Robinson.
The true wild cat still exists in a few of the most retired glens of
Scotland, but the last authentic records of the capture of any in
England are near Loweswater in 1843 ar>d i» Northumberland
in 1853.
I have only to add in conclusion that by an Order in Council
made in 1864 the old chapelry of Bolton was erected into a separate
parish and Bolton Abbey was constituted the rectory that now exists.
ON THE WHARFE
CIIAITKK XXII.
KM USA v "\VAKE"' AND THE FOUNDATION OK BOLTON PRIORY.
Keautilul -•, -cilery Motives tor site of the Priory Ancient religious associations at
Kmbsay St. Cuthbert's " \\'akc " The Celtic Church in N'orthumbria The
painting' of St. Cuthbert at Bolton Priory -The great Fair at Kmbsay Remains < it'
the Priory at Kmbsay -Citation of grant of the manor of Button Legend of the
Strid -The grange of Stead Specie Heck and the name Speight -Citations from
unpublished charters.
|
N the lovely Spring-time when the earth mirrors the
heavens and the wild woodlands are aglow with
countless hyacinths, sprinkled maybe with golden-
rayed celandines, shining like stars in the firmament of
blue, when sweet primroses and violets, orchids and
speedwell gem forest and meadow, and birds of many hues are
joyous with song, no spot in our islands, famed as they are for their
great scenic beauty, can eclipse the few miles of country which lie
around the storied old Priory beside Father Wharfe. Indeed, no
parish in England possesses a more,, enchanting variety of woodland
landscape, everywhere environed by delightful "peeps'" of rock and
crag, or long waving lines of green and purple fell. Nowhere have
the charms of Nature been better or more jealously looked after —
thanks to the noble owners — and appreciated as they are now, (and
even too long ago in the old monastic days), they remain a perpetual
feast to the eye and mind, ever invoking that holy psalm of praise,
so often proclaimed from human heart-depths in yonder noble choir, —
"O, all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise Him and
magnify Him for ever/'
The old monks were men of learning and taste, and when living
at Embsay, a few miles away, they must often have looked upon this
beautiful site by the crystal Wharfe, as one well suited for a
permanent home. There was here not only the sacred seclusion of
God's offering, but there were warm riparian lands which had long
lain fallow, admirably suited for the growth of corn, as well as almost
interminable woods, yielding an abundance of game, while the river
close by provided a convenient supply of fresh-water (ish. The
situation, indeed, was all that could be desired, being sheltered from
the east and north, and yet sufficiently open to admit of plenty of
air and sunlight, while the mixed sand and gravel soil was warm and
dry, and elevated above the reach of floods.
But like all such institutions founded in a credulous era, in order
to exact tribute from the wealth}-, while spreading undoubted benefits
among the people, there must be some extraordinary motive for the
292
existence of Bolton Priory. The old tradition as first recorded by
Dodsworth, ca 1620, is that the "Boy of Egremond" was drowned at
the Strid before the translation of the Priory from Embsay, and that
the grief caused by the loss of her only son induced the Lady Adeliza
to erect and dedicate this holy fane to God's service as a contrite
memorial of her only son's untimely end. But the under-cited
original charter of the pious grantor bears the signature of "William
my son of Egremond," so that whatever may have been the subsequent
fate of this honored youth, we are at any rate sure that he was a living
witness to the charter of translation.
One may express surprise that this site was not originally fixed
upon, instead of the bleaker one beneath Embsay Crag. But there
was, I think, a motive for the first selection, inasmuch as there were
traditions of longstanding about the Embsay site, which even the
Norman subversion would not willingly let die. If there had been an
already existing church at Bolton, why not have grafted the monastery
on that foundation, as appears to have been the case at Embsay?
But no such church at Bolton then existed, which if once attached to
the manse of Earl Edwin, must have been suffered to fall into disuse
on Romille building the castle and founding the church at Skipton ca.
1 100, which henceforward became the church of the parish. The
small tithes of Embsay* as well as all altar-dues arising from the
churches at Embsay and Bolton were subsequently reserved to it,
facts in themselves sufficiently attesting the importance of Embsay
as an anterior foundation. As the Priory at Embsay was not
established until 1121, or after the church of Skipton was built, which
formed part of the original endowment of the Priory, the canons
naturally sought some place having notable sacred associations. I
have already made it apparent that neither Bolton nor Skipton
possessed such, so that some motive, other than that of the mere
land-gift, must have actuated them in their choice of Embsay, which
henceforward continued a privileged place with right of sanctuary to
all fugitives.
Here, too, there seems little reason to doubt, the vigil of St.
Cuthbert had long been, and continued for centuries to be a great
religious festival, inasmuch as we are told his influence had been so
marvellous in Northumbria that miracles which he had wrought in his
life-time did not cease even after his death and burial in 686. I have
already said sufficient about the Celtic church in this part of Yorkshire,
and I need only add my conviction that a Celtic monastery of monks
and nuns, subject to an abbess, as was customary, existed at Embsay,
* The tithe of calves from Embsay, fixed at an annual payment of £i, is now paid
to the Rector of Bolton Abbey. Calves were not paid in kind, but by immemorial
custom eight groats was the modus for a calf, due on six or more calves calved in one
year; the parson allowing out of the said eight groats, three-half-pence a-piece on as
many calves as fall short of ten.
293
an«l which in all probability was destroyed in the Viking irruption
under Hubba in 867. Simeon of Durham tells us that their sites were
held sacred, though no monasteries were re-founded for fully two
centuries afterwards, when the Normans introduced the foreign orders
of monks. But the word monk as Simeon tells us, was never heard in
the north country before William's invasion, whereas nuns were known
in the time of the Britons, and their ministrations were in the 7th
century greatly extended in Xorthumbria by the Abbess Heiv. The
tenacity with which this saint's labours in our district is witnessed, I
have shewn in the still existing name of St. Ives, Bingley, and
probably all our Haltons (in Domesday Heldetune] are simply an
evolution of the name of the Abbess Hilda. At Embsay no tradition
exists of a nunnery, though the name of Nun's Well still clings to a
site near the vicarage.
I have spoken of the efficient opposition of the native inhabitants
to "Rome rule" in the 7th and 8th centuries. How long their
opposition continued here we have no means of ascertaining, but the
evidence shews that St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, the successor of
the Celtic Aidan, the emissary of St. Columba, was in all likelihood
honored here as above remarked, before the Normans came. He
was made Bishop in 685, though we do not know how long after
this time a church or cross was erected to his memory at Embsay,
but Whitaker (1805) says that a Saxon doorway belonging to a
former church was to be seen at Embsay in his time. Pope Gregory
in 601 had ordered vigils or "wakes" to be kept in this country on
the anniversaries of the holy martyrs, and St. Cuthbert's wake at
Embsay would appear to have been one of the great festivals in
Craven before the Castle was built at Skipton or the Priory erected
on the Wharfe at Bolton. Story and tradition of the visits and
preaching of St. Cuthbert may still be found in parts of Yorkshire
and Cumbria that are now but little known, but which, at the time
of the 7th century revival and conversion of the English, were great
centres of missionary light. In Carlisle cathedral the traditions of
St. Cuthbert's labors in that diocese are well preserved in the
magnificent fresco in wood, giving illustrations of his life, &c.
Indeed so venerated was the old Northumbrian saint in our district,
that a portraiture of him in oils was constantly kept in the monastery
at Bolton. The Norman monks, sensible of the value of holy
traditions may well have chosen St. Cuthbert's shrine at Embsay,
with its probable older traditions, as the site of their Augustine
Priory, a bare and lonely spot forsooth, but not more so than that
of the old and similar body of Augustine Canons on the wild Swiss
pass of St. Bernard, whom we know as the " Monks of St. Bernard."
Pope Gregory had also said the people were to erect booths
and stalls in the vicinity of those churches which were formerly
temples, and celebrate the occasion with becoming festivity. In
294
other words the "wake" was to be a fair, attended with religious
rejoicing. When the "wake" or fair at Embsay originated no
writing can tell us, but the monks of Bolton continued the custom,
as they upheld the church at Embsay long after their removal to
Bolton in 1155. From an unpublished record I learn that in the
reign of Edward I. (1272-1307) the Prior of Bolton was summoned
to answer by what warrant he claimed to have a fair and toll in
Emmeseye, without the license and sanction of the king and his
progenitors. And the Prior replies " I place myself upon my
country," by this immemorial usage, and as to the fair, always
held on the vigil and morrow of St. Cuthbert in September, he
contended that the/a/r had arisen by reason of "a certain gathering
of men called a wach" and by occasion of the said gathering the
aforesaid Prior and his predecessors held the said fair at Embsay
without warrant and took toll unjustly. The result of this enquiry
appears to have led to the necessary authority being obtained, for in
the monk's compotus for the year 1305, I find an entry of the heavy
payment of -£4. 5*. " for the charter of the Fair at Embsay being
renewed and confirmed in the Chancery."
Although the short-lived Priory at Embsay, founded in 1121, was
abandoned in 1155,* a dependent cell was maintained there by the
Canons of Bolton until the Dissolution in 1540. The Abbey accounts
show that the church was restored in 1315 and in 1320 a new wall
was built round the churchyard. Portions of the original buildings
were taken down and doubtless some of the masonry conveyed by
ox-wains to the new monastery beside the Wharfe. At Embsay
there is little left now but the turf-grown foundations, but a number
of ancient carved and mason-marked stones remain in the buildings
of the present mansion of Embsay Kirk, which are probably relics
of the old Priory. The mansion on the site was built about 1780
and is not without some interesting associations. The late revered
Primate, Dr. Benson, always retained the happiest recollections of
the many visits of his boyhood which he made when this house was
the home of Mr. John Sidgwick, whose niece, Mary, daughter of
the Rev. Wm. Sidgwick, he afterwards married. Mrs. Benson's
mother, Mary Crofts, who married the Rev. Wm. Sidgwick, was
brought up at Bolton Abbey by her uncle, the Rev. Wm. Carr, of
whom I shall speak hereafter, and in the old Priory churchyard
beside the murmuring Wharfe, sleep many of the worthy Archbishop's
nearest and dearest kindred.
Cecily, daughter and heiress of Robert de Romille, the first
* I find in the Pipe Roll for 8th Henry II. (1161) reference to the Mon. de Ebesi,
[Embsay?], Mon de Berdes, Mon. de Chirchestal and Mon. de Sallea, all in
Everwichescr [Yorkshire], The town of Embesi, the chapel at Carleton, and the vill
of Kildvvic, with the mill there, formed the original endowment of the Priory at
Embsay,
295
grantee after the Conquest, married William tie Meschines. ^rand-
nephew of the dispossessed Saxon Earl Edwin, and this noble couple
were the founders of Embsay Priory. Their daughter, Adelixa, who
was coheiress with her sister, Avicia, who married William de
Paganel, lord of Leeds, &c., granted in her maternal name of Romille.
the site at Bolton for the Canons' Priory then at Embsay. Sin-
married William Fitz Duncan, nephew of David, King of Scotland,
by whom' she had an only son, William, "The Boy of Egremond"
whose signature appears in the following charter. The precious
original, which was not known to Whitaker (vide Craven ^rd ed.
p. 511) I have seen at Bolton Abbey preserved in a small mahogany
box, fitted with glass top, and the deed itself measures nine by five
and-a-half inches. The date is assigned to iyth Stephen (1151)*, and
the grant was confirmed by his successor, Henry II.
GRANT BY ADELI7A OE RCMELLl TO THE CANONS OK KMHSAV OI I HI MANOK
OK BOLTON ON WHARKK.
Be it known to all sons of Holy Church as well present as those of future time that
I Adeliza de Rumelli by the consent and assent ot William my son and heir and of my
daughters have given granted and by this my present charter continued to God and
the Canons Regular of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert of Embesay the whole Manor of
Bolton with all its appurtenances in wood and plain in waters meadows pastures
throughout their devises; to wit from Lumgile under the hedge which is called Lobwith
as it descends from the Moor which is called Lobwithbec by the said Lumgile as far a-
the River of Wharf and so ascending the said river to Berdcnbec and so by Berdenbcc
to Crossekelde and to the road which goes by Merebec which is the devise between
Boelton and Halton and so to Hameldune towards the west by the devises of Berewick
until it returns to Lumgillheved on the moor by Lobwith with all liberties and all tree
customs which I or any of my ancestors shall have had or may have in the said Manor
without any withholding in free pure and perpetual alms in exchange for two manors
which were of the Canons to wit Stretone and Skibdune wherefore I will and command
that the aforesaid Canons shall have and hold the aforesaid Manor of Boulton with all its
appurtenances through the aforesaid devises with all liberties and immunities which
man can give well and in peace freely and quietly free from all secular service custom
and exaction belonging to any mortal, as free pure and perpetual alms for the health of
my soul and of my predecessors and successors And this exchange I and my heirs to
aforenamed Canons will warrant. These being witnesses William my son of Egremont,
Adam son of Swanif, Henry son of Swani, Osbert Archdeacon, William of fflanders,
Arthur of Halton, Maleverer Jordon son of Esselsi, Roger Tempest, Roger Faisington,
Simon MahauntJ:, Peter de Morton, He - of York, William de RillestonjS,
Ketellus son of Torsini, Robert Macun, Edward Chamber, Roger Muncin, Albred son
of — — , Adam of ffernehill, Hano ffauvell, Geoffrey More and many others.
It is noteworthy that while this grant was made "by the consent
and assent of William, my son and heir," in a subsequent charter by
* The church at Long Preston formed part of the original endowments of the
newly-translated Priory, and the grant was confirmed by Archbishop Murdac, who
held the See of York from 1 148 to 1 1 =53.
| Adam fil Swani appears in the Black Book of the Exchequer as holding one
knight's fee of the heirs of Romille.
J Simon Mahaut or Montalte was living in 1165.
§ In the Pipe Rolls for 12 Henry II. (1165-6) I find Will, de Rilleston owing 60
marks for recognizances in the wapentake of Staincliffe,
296
the same lady, extending her benefactions, there is no allusion to her
said son and heir, " the boy of Egremond," which is significant, and
from which circumstance it may be inferred that he had in the
meantime disappeared, thus accounting for the old " Legend of the
Strid." In her second donation the Lady Adeliza gave to the
canons the very important privilege of hunting and slaying all wild
beasts throughout her fee in Craven, and they were to have for their
pains every tenth beast so taken. Many a gallant hunt after boar
and wolf, red-deer and wild cattle, must the old monks have enjoyed
among the woods and crags of upper Wharfedale ! She also gave
them the place called Stede, with all the land betwixt Poseford and
Spectebek and the water of Wharfe and Walkesburn. The monks
had a grange at Stede or Stead, which they rebuilt in 1318, after the
destruction wrought by the Scots. In the compotus of the Priory
for 1298-9 the grange of Stead is stated to have yielded this year
one quarter and two bushels of corn at 4s. per quarter, and in the
same year one Robert de Somerscales took the vaccary of Stede,
with 17 cows, at an annual rent for each cow of four stones of cheese
and two stones of butter. The place is not now existing, but is
mentioned in the original grant of Bolton to the Earl of Cumberland
in 1542, as situated at Storiths-in-Hazlewood.* Specte Beck is an
interesting survival of the A.-S. specht, a woodpecker, whence Speight,
which has this meaning in old English prose and poetry. The word
in this sense is now obsolete, though it survives as a personal name
chiefly in the West Riding of Yorkshire.f The old Ilkley family
name of Heber (see page 245) is probably of similar origin, being
derived from the A.-S. heber, a goat.
There are also a number of early grants to the Canons of Bolton
not cited by Burton, Dugdale, or Whitaker, among the Duke of
Devonshire's archives at Bolton Abbey Many of these relate to
Halton and Cononley. Amongst them is a grant by Richard de
Pinkeney, of Halton: to the Canons of Bolton of two acres of land,
with appurtenances, in Halton, to wit one selion upon Weyelands,
one selion upon Oakelands, one selion upon Scelerumbergh, two selions
upon Quikeman, as they lie for another half acre: and one acre which
abuts upon the toft which Ralph formerly held of John de Eston, and
afterwards of the aforesaid canons. This charter is witnessed by
* Where, by the way, is the site described by Whitaker (1805) as being' in "a
pasture at the south-east extremity of Barden, where is a considerable space of ground
covered by old housesteads? A long tract resembling a street, stretching- from N.W.
to S. K. has been levelled with much toil, and on ither side are vestiges of numerous
enclosures, large and small. The lands adjoining, now covered with ling, bear evident
marks of the plough."
f " Speyhtt How" is also mentioned in the compotus of the Priory for 1298-9.
Spect or Speig-ht Beck at Bolton must have been a favorite haunt of this bird a
thousand years ag^o.
297
John (It- I'Ntoii, ( 'h.irlo Mauleverer, Robert ntor, ami otht t
The same Richard de Pinkeney also gives to the canons, with his
body, half an acre of land in Halton which extends beyond the west
side of Hallehill. Witnessed by Richard del Hill, Thomas de Halton,
Richard Dilloc, his brother, Walter, son of Helte de Estby, William
Mauleverer, &c. He, the said Richard, also gave to the "Canons of
Bowthelton," a rood of land at Cockelde, half a rood at Baxetorne,
and half a rood at Harestones. Sybilla, daughter of William le
Granger, of Halton, ceded to the canons all right and claim she had
in four bovates of land in Halton, which formerly were of Peter de
Carleton, her grandfather. Witnessed by Sir John le Vavasour, Sir
Robert de Plumpton, Wm. Mauleverer of Beamsley, and Wm. de
Aula of Skipton. Matilda, some time wife of Adam Faber (Smith)
de Halton, ceded to the canons her right to a rood of arable land at
Halton, which formerly belonged to Wm. de Hill of the same place.
Witnessed by Sir Thos. de Haltaripa, Wm. de Malgh', (Malham),
Richard Fauvel, and others. This Richard Fauvel married the heiress
of Sir Helias de Rilleston, and was conjointly with Henry de
Hertlington, lord of Rilston in 1315-16. A further Halton deed recites
that one Richard Beche, (whose name occurs in the Bolton Abbey
accounts for 1298), granted to Robert de Berden (a descendant,
perhaps, of the Richard de Bardani, who witnesses a charter of
about the time of the Conquest) and his heirs, a messuage with
curtilage in the vill of Halton, which lies between the toft of Robert
le Sauer on the south side and Halton Moor on the north. Witnessed
by Thomas de Altaripa, Henry de Hertlington (ob. 1335), Wm. de
Hebden, Knights, Henry de Kyghley de Appletrewyk, Robt. le Sauer
de Halton, &c. Given at Halton on St. Mark's Day, 1316. The
above Sir Wm. de Hebden who held the manor of Hebden, also
witnesses several other deeds. In 1315 the Prior of Bolton was
returned as lord of the manor of Halton-cum- Embsay.
There are several interesting old houses at Halton, including
Dyneley Manor and the White House, the latter inscribed R. B.
1620, no doubt having been built by a Benson. There is also a neat
Mission Room, the foundation stone of which was laid by Gilson
Martin, Esq., of Edensor, July 3rd, 1891. Services are held in it
weekly by the rector of Bolton.
Hen- i-~ an interesting reference to the Old English open-field system, when the
land was all in strips or "selions." The word is the same as the Norm-French sillon,
a furrow, and very likely has its root in the Ang-Saxon selian, to give, grant, or bestow.
These littlccultivated strips at Halton each about a rood in extent, scattered promiscuously
about the unfenced field, are known as "lands" (when arable) and "dales" (when
meadow), and the ridges that divide them as "balks." They appear to have been under
different ownerships and according to Mr. Seebohm, the selion was the measure of a
villein's day's ploughing between Easter and Pentecost ; the lands of the village
commune being parcelled out in proportion to the oxen or other goods each holder
furnished to the village plough-team.
CHAPTER XXIII.
BOLTON ABBEY : RECORDS OF EIGHT CENTURIES.
Descent of the manor to the Cliffords — Purchase of the lordships of Bolton &c. by
Henry, Earl of Cumberland— The Priory raided by the Scots — Abstracts from and
remarks upon the ancient Compotus of the Priory— Death of the Lady Marg-aret
Neville and the pomp of her funeral — -The Nortons and the Catholic rebellion —
Notes from letters at Bolton Abbey — Effects of the Dissolution — Local notices of
the Civil War — Succession of the manor — The Cavendish family — Bolton Hall —
Armorial errors — Cavendish Memorial Fountain — The late Duke of Devonshire.
N the last chapter I have told the story of the foundation
of Bolton Priory from original records, and the reader
who chooses to pass through the charming woods to
the_Strid may now picture the "Boy of Egremond" as
his fancy listeth. By the death of young Romille,
(however it may have happened,) his sister Cecily inherited the great
honour of Skipton, and she married (i) Alexander Fitz Gerin, by
whom there was no issue, and (2) William le Gross, Earl of Albemarle,
and lord of Holderness, who died in 1179. With the Albernarles the
estates continued till the death without issue ca. 1280, of Aveline,
Countess of Albemarle, widow of Edmund Crouchback, second son
of Henry III., when the barony became vested in the Crown. Old
Grose tells us that King Edward II. granted the honour and castle of
Skipton to Robert, Lord Clifford, on condition that he should perform
the same services to the Crown as the great Earls of Albemarle had
done. Lord Clifford had already distinguished himself in the wars in
Scotland, and it was he who signed the famous letter from Edward I.
to Pope Boniface, claiming the seigniory of Scotland, by the title
of Chatellain of Appleby. The grant of the fee of Skipton in 1309
would appear to have been made to him for life, but in 1311 it was
confirmed to him and his heirs in perpetuity, in exchange for military
service and for certain lands of his inheritance in Monmouthshire.
This Lord Clifford fell at Bannockburn in 1314, and was succeeded
in the ownership of his dominions by a long line of illustrious men
and women, whose descendants, through the marriage in 1608 of the
last of the Cliffords, the famous Lady Anne, i4th lord of the honour
of Skipton, wilh Sackville, Earl of Dorset, still own the Skipton
estates in the person of Lord Hothfield.
The noble owners of Bolton Abbey are, however, descended
from Francis, Lord Clifford, fourth Earl of Cumberland, who succeeded
in 1605 to tht Earldom on the death of his brother George, Lord
Clifford, father (A the above Lady Anne. Henry, Lord Clifford, their
grandfather, who was the first Earl of Cumberland, purchased the
299
\i>l)e\ estates .md other properties elsewhere lately l»
to the dissolved monasteries. In addition to the site of Bolton
Priory, the purchase included the lordships of Bolton, Storiths, and
Hazlewood, with the manors of Wigton, Brandon, Embsay, Eastby,
part of Halton, Cononley, Rawdon, and Yeadon, and certain lands
and tenements in Barwick and Draughton, Skipton, Long Preston,
Gargrave, Steeton, Marton, Cracoe, Threshfield, and Harden; also
the advowsons of the rectories of Keighley and Marton. The whole
of this property was sold for the sum of ^2,490, equivalent to about
,£25,000 of present money. The license necessary for this important
purchase is dated April 3rd, 1542, and within three weeks the Earl
died, at the age of forty-nine, and was interred in the vault at Skipton,
being the first of the Cliffords to find a sepulchre outside the
dissolved Priory. His son Henry, the second Earl, made the most
eminent matrimonial alliance that has ever taken place in Craven.
He married, the noble and accomplished Lady Eleanor Brandon,
daughter of Charles Duke of Suffolk by Mary, Queen Dowager of
France, daughter of King Henry VII. The ceremony took place at
Skipton Castle, the King himself being present with a distinguished
company.
The endowments of the Priory, or Abbey as it is now officially
described,* consisted of lands, tenements, and hereditaments which,
with exception of certain lands and houses in York, lay wholly
within the province of the West Riding. The places where they
were situate are the following :
Alwoodley, Appletrewick, Arncliffe, Ayrton, Arnford, Bolton, Bradley, Brandon,
Broughton (the church), Brydlath, Burley in Wharfedale (Scaleber), Coldcotes, Calton,
Carleton (Skipton), Castley, Cowling', Cononley, Cracoe, Deepdalestall, Draughton,
Embsay, Eastburn, Eastby, Farnhill, Gargrave, Gilduflat, Glusburn, Halthauit, Halton,
Harewood, Ilaytefeld East, Holmeton, Hellifield, Holme, Keighley, Keswick
(\Yetherby), Kettlewell, Kildwick, Killingbeck, Lofthouse, Malham, Marton, Middleton,
N'ewhiggin, Newton, Penigsthorpe, Long Preston, Rawdon, Scosthrop, Seacroft,
Silsdon, Siglesferne, Skibeden, Skipton, Staveley, Stede, Steeton, Stirk and Storth,
Stirton, Threshfield, Wenteworth, Wceton, \\'hinfield, Wincrthley, \Vigglesworth,
Wigdon, Yeadon and York.
In addition the monks had the right of free chase within
Romille's fee of Craven, and in 1257 they had granted free warren in
Bolton, Kildwick, Stede, Riding, f Hou, Halcum, Malgrum, Seteches,
Wykedon, Brandon, Wentworth, Strete and Ryther. Burton has
calculated the annual income from the monks' estates, with the value
of effects soldjn one year (1324) to be ^"444 175. 4d., but according
* The difference between an Abbey and a Priory consisted in the higher rank of the
former, the advowson and presentation of which belonged to the King, whilst in
Priories proper they belonged to the founder and his successors. Also the English
Abbots had seats in Parliament, and only heads of Priories were so privileged, who sat
with the Bishops in the Upper House.
f How Stede Riddyng and Storthes occurs in the Abbey accounts for 1298.
300
to the rental taken in i535,_five years before the Dissolution, the
revenues only amounted to ^302 qs, 3d. The unsparing raids of
the Highlanders after the English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314,
told sorely upon their Craven lands ; houses, granges and churches
were sacked, cattle carried off, and some places were utterly ruined.
The Priory itself was pillaged and the inmates had to fly for their
lives. There is a succession of mournful entries in the Priory
accounts from 1317 to 1321. In 1319 is the entry: "No compotus
this year because of the invasion of the Scots." Twenty years
before this time peace and prosperity reigned over fell and field and
hamlet and all Craven was contented and happy. The Abbey too
was considerably enlarged and partly rebuilt. Never before had
such an era of prosperity been known in the Yorkshire Dales, and
not for more than two centuries afterwards was it recovered. In
1299 at Bolton and the granges belonging to the house, the monks
had a stock of 713 horned cattle, besides 2193 sheep, 95 pigs and 91
goats, and they slaughtered in that year besides venison, fish and
poultry, more than 300 head of cattle, sheep and pigs. In this same
year (1299) the annual income from their possessions reached the
handsome total of ^865, which fell to nearly one-third of this amount
at the Dissolution of the monastery in 1539-40. The number of
servants was also proportionately reduced, and the old monastery
shewed all the signs of decline.
The accounts of the monastery during eventful years of its
history are contained in a manuscript compotus extending from the
year 1290 to 1325, and as no translation of these has appeared, a
few of the more interesting items may be given. The expenses of
the kitchen shewed that the monks lived well and dispensed their
hospitality in no mean manner. In 1298 they spent ,£11 6s. id. in
salt meat, bought at Clithorp. Can this be Cleethorpe, which,
though a modern watering-place, is a very old village in the Saxon
parish of Clee. Co. Lincoln ? For fish bought at Appleton they paid
£4. 135. 4d., and for fish bought at St. Botolph's ^£4 8s. 4d. This
can be none other than Boston in Lincolnshire, so I conclude it was
at Cleethorpe they purchased salt-fish. They consumed eggs by the
thousand, and in 1298 paid 2is. 2d. for supplies of this comestible;
also 425. for 18 quarters of salt. They liked their meats well salted,
and seasoned, and paid 55. for pepper, saffron and oil and other
spices in the same year. High seasoning provokes thirst, and we
have accordingly some entries of amounts paid for liquor to appease
it, including ^7 155. i id. paid for three pipes of wine, and the carriage
of it. The pipe may be reckoned at 126 gallons. Of ale they brewed
immense stores. For hawks, hens, and goats, they paid in 1298,
195. 2d. In this year they distributed in alms 32^ quarters of fine
wheat, barley, and meal. The rich old monastery was a hospice of
charity ; no one wanted, not even a dog. Fifty-five quarters of meal
3oi
used in food for the buck-hounds and wolf-hounds and all the
other dogs in the service of the monastery this same year , while
the horses within the Cure and without consumed 333 quarters, 5
bushels. The monks had some grand animals. They paid some
times as much as £10 for a horse in the I3th-i4th century, quite
,£150 of our money. Next we find i8s. 6d. paid for mowing the
meadows at Bolton, and 418. 4d. for thrashing corn at Bolton, and
355. id. for thrashing and mowing at Otley. Harvesting the monks'
meadows in Wharfedale was an extraordinary event ; men and
women coming into the district to assist on "harvest-day" from all
the villages for many miles round. Every farm sent its man, who
carried a bow or sword which he laid beside him in the field where
he worked. The monks preferred to have all their corn cut and
stacked in a single day, and the accounts shew that sometimes as
many as 1000 men were engaged to reap at Bolton for one day,
each receiving 2d., while some 300 boon-reapers (tenants who owed
service to the monks) got each by custom a half-penny for food.
Contrast this with four centuries later when in 1716 I find men
haymakers at Bolton received 8d. a day and women 6d.
The strips and reins of old corn-lands can still be discerned in
the grass pastures about the Abbey. They kept blacksmiths to
make and mend the ploughs and shoe the horses and perhaps the
oxen. Oxen were always preferred on the roads. Where, pray, was
the old smithy in 1294? In that year ics. was paid for sea-coal for
the forge, which is probably the earliest reference to the use of coal
in Yorkshire, though in Shropshire, Walter de Clifford I find obtained
a licence to dig coals within the Forest of La Clie in 1263. In 1306
the use of coal was publicly prohibited. In 1298 the monks again
spent lys. in sea-coal for burning lime. Lime obtained from river
pebbles was burnt here for mortar used in the building of Skipton
Castle (which stands on limestone rock) soon after the Conquest.
Doubtless before the Normans came all the buildings in this forest-land
were of wood. The next items in 1298 I will quote, relate to the
expenses of the sheep &c., the monks being large sheep-farmers, and
not only the flesh but the milk as well :—
For oil, soap and fat, bought for anointing- the sheep ^"4 10 7
For quicksilver and green paint bought at York ... 1211
For 34 Ibs. of green paint and 12 Ibs. of quicksilver, bought at St.
Botolph's [Boston Fair, Lincolnshire] ... ... ... ... i 12 o
For hay bought at Unkethorpe [Marton] 096
Milk for the lambs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... o 19 i
For washing, shearing, " barmeclathes," and for women milking
the sheep... ... . . ... ... ... ... ... ... o is -'
For fat and cotton for making candles ... ... ... ... ... o 17 i
Adam de Elshow takes the vaccary of Howe with 19 cows, and is
bound to answer for each cow 4 stones of cheese and 2 stones
nt I Hitter ; for a stone of cheese ^d. and for a stone of butter 8d.
302
In this year 1298 is an entry of i6s. equal to at least ^15 of
our money, spent on gold and colour for painting and illuminating a
missal. What a sumptuous tome this must have been, upon which
all the skill and love of the artist in his work were expended. It wa^
within the storied walls of these old monasteries that most of .the
eminent artists and men of letters of that time were educated and
trained. Learning there received its greatest encouragement, and
where one was always sure of finding the largest and best collections
of books —
" Golden volumes ! richest treasures !
Objects of delicious pleasures."
were these old monastic books. In many of our abbeys are certain
rooms and small closets, which we sometimes find marked on
ground-plans and described as "use unknown," which may often
safely be put down as the receptacles of rare books and manuscripts,
including original charters and grants to the religious holding them.
In 1310 for example the canons paid 6s. for a book called "The
Truths of Theology," and we may be sure such an expensive book
would be carefully closeted when not in use.
Other interesting items may be mentioned, such for example as
the sum of ys. 6d. expense incurred by the King's esquire coming to
the Abbey in 1300 in order to collect wains for the expedition
against the Scots. This was the beginning of the trouble I have
mentioned on page 205. Then we have an entry in 1300 of an
exceptional kind, namely for expenses of the Prior journeying through
England to the Court of Rome in order to obtain a bull for
Appletrewick, that manor having just been purchased by the monks.
The journey out and home cost about ^34 13$., or about ^500
according to the present standard, shewing with what state and
circumstance the head of the monastery travelled. In the same
year presents to the value of £6 13$. qd. were made to the Lord
Archbishop of York at his enthronization. In 1303-4 Hayne, the
King's porter receives 6s. 8d. for delivering the wains in Scotland.
The same year the Archbishop's clerks receive sos. for writing the
charter of appropriation of the Church of Long Preston ; also the
clerks of the Chapter of York get 405. for writing the same charter
and confirmation of the church of Carlton. In 1306 a gift of 6s. 8d.
is received from Everard Fauvel for the glass window in the chancel
of Skipton Church. At the same time 648. 8d. was disbursed for
the building and reparation of the choir of Skipton Church, and the
window lattices were put up in 1307.
In the same year 2s. 6d. is paid for a feather-bed, a luxury
indeed, considering that even so late as the Reformation most people
slept on hay or straw or rushes. No doubt it was for the Lord Prior,
as in this year 345. 6d. is spent on his private chamber, besides
something for benches and cushions, and a bell to summon his
3°3
attendants. Next year he had a severe illness and a physician was
to summon, probably from York, who sent in a bill for 40$.
In 1307 the tolls of Embsay Fair amounted to £8 ios., equal
to about ^120 of our standard. This upholds what I have contended
in the last chapter on the paramount importance of Embsay. St.
Cuthbert's "Wake" was still kept up, and must have been one of
the greatest and merriest gatherings Craven has ever known. Even
the tolls of a weekly market at Skipton with two fairs in the year
only yielded ;£i6 138. 4d., and after the dissolution of monasteries
did not bring so much as this. Robert; Lord Clifford, mentioned in
the early part of this chapter, had at this time begun the extension
and rebuilding of Skipton Castle, a great and costly undertaking.
He was Earl Marshall of England, and one of the most powerful
nobles then living. The monks sought to gain the favor of him and
his lady by presents of jewels which necessitated a dip into the
monastic coffers to the extent of ^5 8s. 8d. Again in 1312 they
spent i5s. 3d. on a magnificent candle presented to Lady Clifford on
the day of her purification, probably after the birth of her only
"laughter, Idonea, who married Henry, Lord Percy. In 1313 two
swans sent to the Earl of Lancaster cost the establishment i6s. 2d.
In 1317 the Prior of Bolton was summoned to Parliament and
his attendance incurred an expenditure of 26s. 8d. Next year he rode
in state to York in order to be present at the enthronization of
Archbishop Melton, a visit that cost the Priory £2 3*. 8d. The
wealthy and pious Lady Margaret Neville was a benefactress to the
Priory, and in 1318 there is a present to her from the monks of what
must have been a very handsome silver-mounted saddle and trappings
which cost the house iocs., about ^70 present currency. She was
the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John de Longvillers, and married
Geoffrey, brother to Robert, Lord Neville of Raby Castle. Her
husband dying in 1284, it would appear from the Abbey annals, she
had retired to this neighbourhood, residing either at Neville Hall,
Gargrave, or at Cononley Hall, to which latter mansion there was a
private chapel attached. In Kirkby's Inquest she appears as a large
landowner at Cleckheaton in the Spen Valley, and by inquisition
taken in 1319 she was declared possessed (as co-owner) of the manor
of Gargrave and had estates in other places. Her family were lords
of Hornby co. Lancaster, and her son, Sir John Neville, succeeded to
Hornby manor and castle. When she died in 1318 there was a great
state funeral, attended probably by not fewer than 1200 persons.
The monks made ample provision for the funeral repast, and a very
impressive service must have been witnessed at the interment within
the old Abbey choir.*
* The Bolton Abbey registers for 1698 contain the burial entry on March i7th of
Ann Snowden, as interred within the choir ruin--. She was no doubt a relative of the
ruratt'-in-ohargv, the Rev. Ja*. Snowden.
When after the suppression of the monastery* a revolt took
place, Sir John Neville, was one of its staunchest abettors, and was
amongst those indicted in 1569- for high treason by the Protestant
Queen Elizabeth. The Tempests, Malhams and Nortons were also
in this rebellion. The story of the Nortons of Rilston has been told
in stirring verse by Wordsworth in the White Doe of Rilston, but how
many or which of the "eight good sons" of old Richard Norton
perished by the headsman's axe, or where or in what manner they
died, does not appear to be accurately known. The account given
by Dr. John Story in 1571 must however be relied on, that he
conversed with Richard and Francis Norton in Flanders, some time
after the rebellion. His statement I find confirmed in the Calendar
of State Papers for 1570 wherein is a letter written by Francis Norton
from Antwerp to Lord Burleigh craving his intervention with the
Queen for a general pardon. The records at Bolton Abbey shew
that one of Norton's servants, Richard Kitchen, butler in his
household, was taken and publicly executed at Ripon for joining his
master in the rebellion. This Robert Kitchen I take to be a son of
the Robert Kitchen, the old park-keeper of the Cliffords who gave
evidence in the famous dispute between the Cliffords and Nortons as
to the bounds &c. of their respective deer-parks in 1560. Their
descendants are in Skipton yet.
There are many interesting letters among the manuscripts at
Bolton Abbey referring to this eventful time. One dated 1559 is
written to the Earl of Cumberland stating that precautions are being
taken against the threatened insurrection, and that the Master of the
Armory has been solicited to supply certain corselets and pikes, the
corselets at 3o/- a-piece and the pikes at 2/-, hagbuts can be supplied
at 8/-, curryers at i6s. 8d., and bills at i6s., but gauntlets cannot be
had " for friendship or money." The dissolution brought about
widespread famine and misery, which saw no abatement until the
new Poor Law was inaugurated by the Parliament of Queen Elizabeth.
Large numbers took to false coining &c., and the prisons almost
everywhere were full. Many, these letters tell us. died in the roads
from sheer want. There is a draft of a letter apparently written by
Lord Clifford and dated 1604 which presents a horrible picture of an
infectious disease that was then raging in the north. Scores, if not
hundreds, of false coiners, wanderers, and strolling players were in
prison at that time, and in a reference to Newcastle we are told the
goal there is " so weak and noisome most of the notorious prisoners
had escaped and some had died." Such as were able were dragged
from these foul cells and brought to the bar ; two we are informed
died on the way, while some poor fallen creatures at Newcastle and
* A list of the Priors of Embsay and Bolton from A.D. 1120 to the Dissolution, has
been furnished by Mr. Baildon in the Record Series of the Yorkshire Archl. Sooy.
Carlisle " fell down speechless before us while tl on trial/'
The state of tiling was so bad that mere punishment by confinement
in the sickening dungeons of the time accelerated rather than
mended the gathering distress, and Lord Clifford boldly asked ^100
from the King out of the forfeited recognizances for the sole purposes
of charity. In 1625 there was another virulent outbreak of the
plague in Newcastle and other places, and in this year appears a
letter signed by a number of gentry excusing themselves from lending
money to the King. A letter of the same year relates to the
disarming of Papists, except nobility and peers whom his Majesty-
deals with.
I have before alluded to the effect which the Civil War had
upon Wharfedale ; of the local preparations made and of the men
who took part in it. There is a letter among the Bolton muniments
dated July 3ist 1638, written by the Earl of Arundel to Henry, Lord
Clifford, the last Earl of Cumberland, which has a local bearing on
this great strife. The writer makes a humble suggestion, which read
in these modern days of big gun factories may excite a smile : —
I think it not amiss if your Lordship by your example would invite the nobility and
gentry of the North to set on with country smiths to make plain pit-res and pistols,
with rests for musket--, and such like, and though they be but homely work, they may
stand in good steade ; lead can not want so near Derbyshire, and his Majesty is careful
to send some good proporcion of powder to Hull shortly.
There is a tradition in the neighbourhood that before the fatal
battle of Marston in 1044. I'rim e Rupert came through Skipton with
his army and camped in a. field of growing corn at Bolton. The
tradition is fully warranted by the fact that in the Clifford family
accounts is an entry of an allowance made to the farmer for the royal
trespass. It is this:—
Bolton, \2 July, 1044. Agreed with Richard Barnvis, tor all that piece of ground
at Bolton called Hambilton, as it now putteth out to be eaten and foiled by the Prince's
horse as they passed through this countrv &<-. £20
The above Lord Clifford did not live to see the end of the war.
but died at York in December. 1^43, and was interred at Skipton
"amidst the roar of arms" whilst his castle was being held for the
king. The Skipton registers contain an entry of the burial of his
daughter, Lady Frances Clifford in the May previous, at the age of
seventeen. His only other child and heiress, Lady Elizabeth Clifford,
married in 1635 Richard Boyle, second Earl of Cork and first Earl of
Burlington, who died in 1697. It was the Hon. Robert Boyle,
cousin to Charles the succeeding Earl of Burlington, owner of the
Bolton Abbey estates, who founded the Boyle School near the Abbey
in 1700. A new school was erected at Beamsley in 1874, and the
picturesque old building, with its armorial shield of Boyle, and
inscription over the porch, is now the rectory.
The family terminated in an heiress. Charlotte Elizabeth, onlv
surviving daughter uf Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, who died in 1754.
306
She married in 1748 William Cavendish, fourth Duke of Devonshire,
with whose descendants the Bolton Abbey estates still remain.
There are, however, some important errors in this part of the pedigree
shewing the descent of the Barony of Clifford in Whitaker's Craven,
which the subjoined draught will correct. It is also brought down
to the present time.
Bolton Hall,, the annual resort during the shooting-season of the
Duke of Devonshire and party, faces the west front of the Abbey.
The square central tower of the Hall is the ancient gateway of the
Abbey, in the upper room of which the greater part of the monastic
records were kept. This interesting remnant of the old Priory is
pictured by Landseer in his famous painting of "Bolton Abbey in
the Olden Time," the original of which is at Chatsvvorth House.
The two large arches have been walled up and suitable additions
made for residential purposes. What was the covered gateway is
now a large dining-hall, and on the left is a drawing-room which
contains some interesting Clifford family portraits. The restoration
into a residence was probably carried out by the third Earl of
Burlington (1695-1753) the builder of Farrield Hall, before mentioned,
whose monogram surmounted by an Earl's coronet, appears over the
door of this apartment. On the fireplace and cornice there is an
incorrect emblazonment of the arms of the Priory, which should be
gules, a cross patonce, ratre (not or) argent and azure. There is also
another heraldic error in the arms shewn on the Cavendish Memorial
Fountain. The shield bearing three bucks' heads cabossed
(Cavendish), empaling chequy, or and azure, a fess gules (Clifford) is
an impossible conjunction, for no such marriage took place. The
Clifford heiress married a Boyle, as stated above, and it was the
heiress of the third Earl of Burlington (Lady Charlotte Boyle) who
married the fourth Duke of Devonshire, as shewn in the annexed
pedigree. Their arms, Cavendish empaling Boyle (per bend
embattled), are correctly represented on one of the two shields facing
the road, but the one intended no doubt to shew the descent of
Cavendish from the Cliffords ought properly to have been Boyle,
empaling Clifford. The Fountain is a very handsome memorial to
the late Lord Frederick Cavendish, and was erected in 1886 by public
subscription of the electors in the West Riding of Yorkshire; of
which he was a Parliamentary representative at the time of his death.
There is also a very beautiful stone cross in the vicinity of the
Abbey raised to his memory, which bears an inscritipon reciting the
painful circumstances of his death on May 6th, 1882.
Of Lord Frederick it may be affirmed that he perished while
serving the interests of the best governed country on earth. To the
enduring honour of his family, be it also said, there are few of our
noble houses that have rendered such signal and self-sacrificing
services to this great English State. Proceeding from the high
Pedigree of Cauendish
^^M%
. \KMS .Sti/ilr, three buiks' heads <
<i/thrd, or.
CKKST Ori'i-ii cnnvn ct serpent >nw
SrrroKi KKS -7n'<> lutcks, />/»:, rnch
thf neck n'if/i a rhaf>U't <>f
atyr. and <r. .
William Cavendish, Charlotte Klix
4th Duke ol Devonshire, K.(J. d. and heii" ol
H. 1720. M. 1748 the estates at
Prime Minister, 17^6-7. Chis\vick, co.
D. 1764. liunl. at All Si-., (
Derby
William, ( i) (Jcorj^iana, d. ol John, Karl l\i<
<'d, M>: 5th Duke of Spencer. M. 1774. D. f8o6. I), in
-^'ira/lii'd niiiiid Devonshire, K.(i. (2) Lady Kli/abeth Foster, in
ntxt'S itltcniatflr B. >~J4^- ' *• 1811. widow of John Thos. l-'oster,
Hurd. at All Sts., Ksq., ami d. of the 4th Karl of
Derby Bristol. M. 1809. D. 1824
Creorgiana Henrietta
Dorothy, ck!. d. Kli/abeth,
15. 1783.' I). 1858 !',. 17*5. D. 1862
md. George, 6th nul. (iranville,
Karl of Carlisle. is( Fa rl ( Iranyillr
H. 1773. I). 1848 H. 1773. D. 1846
Will. Spencer,
6th Duke of NVilliam
Devonshire H. 1783
H. 1790 Killed 1812
I), unnid. 1858 by being
lid. at Kdensor thrown out
of a dog" cart
at Holker
Louisa, d. <>f George HenryCompton Sarah,
Cornelius, 13.1784. D.immd in 1809 co-hcii
ist Lord Drowned on the passage Auj^.
Lismore home from Corunna ; I''-(|.
D. 1863 the transport being 1). iSi
Hurd. at wrecked on the Manacle i son _>
Kdensor Rocks jn Cornwall
(leor^e Henry Richard
md. Louisa, d. B. 1812
ol Henrv, D.unnul
2iul Karl of '^Ti
I larewoi >d
D. 1880
1 1 is widow
d. 1 880. Had
issue, 4 sons
and2 daughters
of whom only i
son and 2
daughters now
survive, (1900)
William Blanche
2nd Earl of (ieor^iana
Burlington, d. ol'
7th Duke of Ceortfe,
Devon- 6th Karl ol
shire, K.(i. Carlisle
B. 1808 md. 1829
D. 1891 D. 1840
Hurd at Hurd. at
Ktlensor Streatham
moved to
Edensor
Jan. 1892
William, Spencer Compton, Countess Louise Fredcrica Kredk. C'harles Lucv Caroline,
Lord Marquis of Harting- Auguste, d. of C'liarie-
Cavendish ton, 8th Duke of Count von Allen, of Hanover
•Ide-t son Devonshire, K.G.
B. 1831 B. 1833. M. 1892
I ). 1834 I V.v. 1900
and widow of William,
yth Duke of Manchester
l'i.\: 1900
B. 1836.
Assassd. in
Pluvnix Park,
Dublin, 1882
Bd. at l-'.densor
d. of
Wm., 4th Loi
Lyttelton,
md. 1864
Kdward
B. 1838
D. 1891
liurd. at
Kden-or
Victor Christian Wm. Lady Evelyn Fitzmaurice, Richd. Fredk. Lady Moyra de \'ere John Spencer
B. i8(>8 " d. ,,'f the 5th B. 1871 Beauclerk, d. of the " li- '«75
M. 1892 Marquis of Lansdowne M. 1895 roth I )uke of St. Albans Lieut, ist Life Chiarils
Kdward William Spencer Maude Louisa ICmma Blanche
B. 1895 B. 1896 B. 1898
l-lli/abeth
B. 1897
William Francis Kgerton -Lady Alice Susan Frederick Greville Egerton, Lieut. R.N.
B. 1868
Late of 1 7th Lancers
M. 1894
Francis
B. 1896
B. 1869. Served with the Naval Brigade
Osborne, d. of the of H.M.S. Powerful at Lady-mith, Natal,
gth Dukeof Leeds where he died on 3 Nov., 1899, of wounds
received the previous day, and was that
same day promoted to the rank of
Commander
Blanche
I larriet
Dorothy
Charlotte
Chri
Mi
Mike of Devonshire.
le ( Barone— ( 'I i fiord in her oxvn right ),
-hard, vd Karl of Burlington. She brought
lion Abbey and I .onde-borough, co. York,
die-ex, and Li-more, co. \Vaierlord into the
idi-h familv. B. i7.;i. D. 1754
leorge Augu-lu- Henry Klixabeth, d. and h. of Charles. Dorot
>. 1754. Created F.arl of Karl of Northampton, xvho D. 171
Burlington and Baron brought Compion Place, near
fax cndi-h ol Keighley, Ka-tbonrne, and e-tates in
18^1. I). ,S;i Sussex and Somersetshire in the
Cavendish family. I). |8^
Henry Frederick Compion Frances Susan, widow of the Hon. CliarU-- C.
| I!. Speight'- /•/>/>,•/• \\'li,ii->,;/,it,
In tare page 307.]
Doroihy \V
Vni. I li-nr\ < 'a\ endi-h
3rd Duke of Portland
H. 17-^8. M. \-l<«>
('I'wicc I'rinic .Minister)
i. and
\Vm.
kener,
. 1 8 1 1 .
caving
ghter-
( M-neral in the Armv. B. 178
M.P. lor Derby
(Scrvi d in the Peninsula War,
xvounded at Corunna)
D. 187-;. Burd. at Fastbournc
Had i--ue by both marriages
Fredk. John Howard, who xxa-
ki lied a I Waterloo, -on of I-' rede rick
5th Karl of Carli-le, and brother to
(icorge, dlh Karl (.v<r opposite)
D. 1840, leaving i -urx i\ ing son bx-
her 1-1 husband, ^ survix-ing -oti-
and t dan. by her jnd husband
Cliarle- C.
Anne
( 'aniline
voungc-i
m. Lord
IX num.
-on.B. I7<,-;
Charles
1867
created in
Fitz-
1858 Baron
Rox
Che-ham.
Married .V
lell is-ue
Fanny
"I- i-V,7
I). |S,S5
,--(•(1 7(1, at
'ompton
Place,
Slls- e\.
iurd. at
den-nr.
is--ue
ons anil .;
1'icdei'ick John (.'ol. \\'illiani Henry l-'redei'ii k, of \\'est Stoke, Sussex. Lady Kmily A. l.anibton
-...i Major the H. 1X17. I). i.s.Si. Groom-in-Waiting to H.M. The d. of the ist Earlof Dur-
llon. !•'. Ouecn. Served in the 5and Oxfordshire Light Infantry, ham, by Lady Louisa
Howard, by and afterwards commanded ihe 2nd Derbyshire Militia Elixaheth, his jnd \\i|r,
Frances Susan (Chatsworth Rilles). He inherited estates under the will
l.anibton, who of his grandfather, the Earl of Burlington, at Appletre-
nid. jiidly ( Ii-n. wick, Hawnby, Hilton, and lni;-l)irchwortli, co. York,
Ily. I-', ('omp- and at Oiler-en, Heard, and elsewhere in co. IVrln.
ton Cavendish which lie sold -onie years before his death.
(s» oppo-ke) Burd. at I'ideii.-or
eldest d. of Charles,
_'lld I'iai'l ( Jrey. K.(i.
Prime Minister i.S^o-v)
D. iSSd
Henry Fredk. Compton, Cecil Charles. I',. 1X55. S|)encer I-'.
late Lieut
i
. R..N.
Major 74th 1 lighlan'd
(Jeorge
B. 1854. Md
1888 Lady
Light Infantry. Md.
1 > . w «O
1 larriet < >-bor
le, d. of the
1890, Maud Henrietta,
late ( 'apt.
1 hike of Leeds
I la- issue
d. ofCol. (i.T. Halliday
Shropshire
1 la- i — lie
I.. Infantry
Kditli Sarah l-Ilixabelh, d. 187
Alice Beatrice, d. 1857
Mabel Beatrix Caroline,
d. i.Sdi
F.velyn Fmily (ieort^iana,
d. i«.si
ouisa Blanche
1 loxx-ard
elde-l dan.
md. i.Xd<)
I). 1871
Arthur \V. de B. Sa\-ile l-'oljambe
B. 1870. ('apt. 4th Bait. Rifle
Brigade. A. IXC. to Lord Lieut.
of Ireland, and was appointed by
H.M. The Oueen M.V.O.,
April, iqoo
( Veil d. Sax il<-, Lord
I laxx ke-bury, Lieut.
R.N. retired. M.P.for
North Noit-, 1880-5 ;
M.P. for Mansfield
Divi-ii in of Not!-,
in-Waiting to H.M.
The Oueen, 1804-5
Annette Frederick
Louise, C. S.
only dan. Foljambc
of the 5th B. and I).
Vi-count 1871
Monck.
M. ,897
Susan Louisa Cavendi-h
eldest daughter,
md. 1X77
(ieraldNV. I .
S. |-"ol;ambe.
B. 1871.
Lieut, i-t
Battn. (4,vd)
( )xlord-hire
I.. Infantry
is now
serving n
South Africa
1900
[osceline
C. \V. S.
Foljambe,
b. i88j.
Robert A. I-!.
St. A. S.
Foljambe,
b." 1887.
Bertram
M. ( ). S.
Foljambe.
b. 1891.
X'ictor Alex.
Ce<-il Savile,
b. 1805, to
whom H.M.
The Oueen
stood sponsor
F.dith Mai^uel
Fmilv Marx-
Alice Klheldreda
Ceor^'iana Marx
Mabel Fxclxn
Selina Mary
Mai't;-aret Susan
Louisa Mary,
died 1884"
Constance
Blanche Alethca
Mary
Rosamond Sylvia
Diana Marx
Foljambe
3°7
standard of the doughty Cliffords, with all their noble alliances, the
very fountains of English history, the lustre of the family tradition*
has not grown dimmer with advancing time. Indeed, the house of
Cavendish has made and continues to make our history, whether in
the ripe and peaceful scholarship of the late Duke, or in the busy
political life of his famous sons, or as events in the recent Transvaal
war have shewn, her children go forth at the Nation's call and dare
THE LATE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.
to die at the post of duty,* — their actions are ever in the fore-page
of honour, bound up with "our rough island story." Nay, honour,
integrity, and eminent public service are writ down the long family
record, even from the days of the renowned Sir William Cavendish,
" I allude, ot course, to the unflinching- heroism of young Lieut. Kgerton, who fell
a victim to the enemy's shell?, while g-allantly commanding hi- Naval Hatti-ry at
T.adysmith early in November, 180x5.
3o8
Privy Councillor to King Henry VIII. to these of the present noble
head of the house whose lot it is to guide our Nation's destinies.
The late Duke was himself a man of exceptional parts, though
his simple habits and retiring disposition rather ill suited him for
public life. He was a student all his life. At Cambridge he carried
all before him and was the leading scholar of his College. In 1829,
at the age of twenty-one, he graduated M.A. as Second Wrangler
and Smith's Prizeman, and in 1834, the year of his elevation to the
peerage, he took his LL.D. From 1836 to 1856 he held the
Chancellorship of the University of London, and in 1861 he succeeded
the late Prince Consort as Chancellor of Cambridge University, and
this position he continued to hold until his death. In 1829 he was
chosen to represent the University in the House of Commons. Two
years later he was rejected by the University, but was elected for
3<>9
Malton, and from 1832 until his succession to the prrra^r as Karl of
Burlington in 1834, he sat for North Derbyshire.
At Bolton Abbey he was a regular and familiar visitor, though
he regarded Hollu-r Hall, by the quiet shores of Morecambe Bay, as
his regular home. He was known as "the good Duke," and as a
landlord he may be said to have been an almost ideal one. His
extensive estates, in eleven English counties and in two in Ireland,
though always managed by capable and experienced stewards, were
under his own personal supervision, and he was always desirous of
keeping himself in touch with all the more important matters
concerning them. Rents, which have been generally low, have
rarely been interfered with, and he spent his money very freely in
improvements, doing practically everything that a tenant required.
There is, however, another side to this part of our subject.
Tenants we know are always complaining; there is always something
needed, some addition, alteration, or something to repair, which
even the most generous of landlords cannot always accede to. I
remember hearing a rather amusing story apropos of this, shewing
how at least one Bolton tenant worked round a difficulty. It appears
that the Duchess of Devonshire was once staying at the Hall, when
one day she met a tenant, who ventured to complain to her of the
bad condition of his house. " Dear me," said her Grace, " you
should complain to Mr. (the steward)." The man replied that
he had already done so, but to no purpose. " Then I will mention
your case to the Duke," continued her Grace, blandly. " Ah, my
lady," observed the tenant, " the Duke is in the steward's hands, and
won't do anything." " Then," said the Duchess firmly, " I will
punish them both by ordering a new house to be built for you."
And the good lady kept her word for the house in due time was
built !
Of the present noble owner of Bolton, it need only be said he
more than upholds the traditions of his family in all that appertains
to the welfare of our hearths and homes. His life has been largely
spent amid the strife of politics, having been a Member of Parliament
since the age of twenty-three, when in 1857 he was returned for
North Lancashire. His unbounded generosity in throwing open the
private estate of Bolton Woods is only one of many instances of a
manifest regard for the health and pleasure of the English people.
Though more than once has the threat of closing this charming
domain been necessary, it is however, devoutly to be hoped that
the annoyances caused by the few will diminish, and that the
thousands of young and old, of hale and sick, who annually benefit
bv a visit to the beautiful historic Abbey and Woods may continue
to enjoy the freedom of the place as before.
Now that the railway has been brought within a mile of the
Abbey, without in any way interfering with the charm of its isolation,
310
and facilities are offered by means of cheap tickets for visiting the
place, even the lowliest denizens of such smoke-palled cities as Leeds
and Bradford, may for a comparatively trifling outlay enjoy something
of the grandeur of Nature, and feel all the better for communion
however short, with some of the noblest achievements of man.
Of course it is not everyone among the crowds of admiring
visitors who looks upon the scene with an artist's eye or a poet's
thoughts. For example, I heard quite recently of a couple of working
women from a West Riding town, who were observed gazing intently
upon the beautiful and expansive surroundings of the old Abbey.
Said one of them after a few minutes pause : " Hah dus ta like it,
Peggy?" "Aye," responded Peggy with apparent unconcern, "it's
all reight, ye knaw, bud what a grand spot for hingin' aht clooathes ! "
WEST DOORWAY' BOLTON ABBEY.
CHAPTER XXIV.
DESCRIPTION OF THK ABBEY.
A neglected approach to the Abbey — A Pilgrim'-; Cross — Beauty of th' I hi-
I'net Laureate's observations— The ruined choir Norman sculptured stones —
"Sermons in Mom:--" Additions in the i^ih century -The parish church —
Architectural description — The Beamsley Hall chapel Vault tor upright buriaN
Sealed altar — Other relics — The tower &c. -The Priorv oven — Local discoveries —
A pilgrim's statue.
A river journeyeth past its ancient wall-,
Whereon hoar ivy thrives and night-owls build ;
It's only chant is now a waterfall'-,
Which swells and falls, and -well- a- it i- tilled
With music from the hills. The cuckoo calls
Throughout moist May. When August woods are stilled
In sleepy sultriness the stock-dove brood-
Low to itself. The rest is solitude's. Alfred Austin.
UCH is the poet-laureate's faithful description of the
surroundings of Bolton Priory, and to realise the
charm of its situation to the utmost I recommend the
approach from Embsay (the site of the original Priory),
by the ancient moorland road traversed by monk and
pilgrim. in the heydays of the monastery. The road goes by the head
of the romantic Cat Gill, and then rises to the well-known Pilgrim's
Cross, the socket of which I am glad to say is still there, and the
sight of which stirs up memories of other days. Even as a lad as I
passed this way I would fancy the Priory in its golden prime, the
convent herds browsing in field and fell, the sound of its bells in the
summer air, the far-travelled pilgrim with staff in hand, pausing to
repeat an Ave Marie by this time-hallowed way-mark; then as I rose
to the summit of the open road the dear old valley, stored with
memories of childhood's happiest hours, gleamed even as a vision of
Paradise on the rapt senses ! Chequered with sunlight and cloud-
shadow, even as our own earthly career, rose the wide spaces of
moorland, with peaceful embowering woodland and many an ancestral
homestead in the sheltered meadows below. Well might memory
revive at so fair a scene. In the words of Craven's greatest living
poet, William Joseph Gomersall, I might say:
How oft when autumn tints thy wood,
In dreams I climb thy greenest hill,
\nd gaze upon thy golden flood,
And wish myself thy nursling still.
Every lane and wayside in those days was a veritable nosegay of
unmolested beautv. Primroses covered every hedgerow, and the
3I2
woods and lanes were massed with almost every kind of bright or
fragrant posy. The rest indeed was solitude's, as the laureate hath
truly phrased it. And in the midst of all this quiet loveliness, a
loveliness in truth unmatched within the four shores of our island,
stand the crumbling remains of the stately old Priory I have now
to describe.
Let us cross the greensward and first step into the ruined choir
for it is here where the oldest work is seen. And rare suggestive
work it is too ! Gaze on that noble east window, which must have
been one of the glories of England ; likewise on that interlaced
arcading above the monks' stalls, which marks the transitional move
from the round-arched Norman to the Early Pointed style. Even if
we could shew no charter, the design fixes the date (1140-1160) as
permanently and as surely as if it had been figured in stone. The
west portion of the choir marks the beginning of the monks labors
(1151-4) and as they speedily grew in wealth, within a few years the
choir was extended eastwards. The two periods of workmanship
are at once seen, alike in the rough rubble masonry of the older end
and the fine ashlar walling at the east end, as well as in the method
of treating the arcade. In the older work all three mouldings are
continued through the sweep, of the arch from west to east only,
while in the later arcading the uppermost mouldings are continued
in both directions and with more delicate skill across the intersection
of the arches. A reference to the accompanying plate will shew
what I mean. Over the Clifford tomb is a curious example of
combined shafts and capitals, very cleverly wrought out of a single
block of stone.
The diverse and beautiful carvings of some of the old Norman
capitals here also evince a wondrous skill and taste, considering they
were fashioned seven-and-a-half centuries ago, in the infancy of
English art. Some of these capitals, which have been excellently
photographed for me by Mr. Longbottom, and here engraved, look
almost as fresh and perfect as when they left the sculptor's hands,
cut as they are in the durable gritstone of the neighbourhood. They
are the obvious production of loving hearts and minds, undisturbed
by external conflicts, or by any considerations of worldly gain. As
we look up in admiration at them, how the thoughts return to those
vanished days when the sculptor's soul had no greed save in the
spirit of excellence, bequeathing to us these "sermons in stone" to
elevate and instruct us by their diverse forms and beauty and to
calm our hearts in this Age of Stress. And how all this contrasts
with the visible decadence of later times, notably of the i6th and
1 7th centuries, or with the still more wretched churchwardens'
building of the succeeding era, when love of money rose above the
purer love of art.
I have spoken of the terrible shock which the monastery received
in the reign of Kdward II, a shock indeed from which it never
recovered. Before that time happiness and prosperity had flowed
over the land, and the monks made considerable improvements and
additions to the conventual buildings. The tottering central tower
was probably then taken down, as these Norman central towe^ as a
rule were not very safe. The narrow Norman lights were replaced
by the more elaborate and expansive windows, which still remain,
though in ruins, in the monks' choir. The-,e enlargements were
carried out from about 1290 to 1300, as appears by the monastic
NORMAN CAPITALS AND ARCADING, BOLTON PRIORY.
annals, and I also find that considerable improvements were made
about the Prior's Chapel in 1312. The upper part of the choir was
wholly rebuilt so far as was necessary to admit of the insertion of the
larger windows. But the jamb masonry of the great east window
looks original. There are four sedilia on the south side which
exhibit Decorated work. In the Parish Church at Skipton there are
also four sedilia in the south wall, but the easternmost of these is
recessed not for a seat, but for a side-cupboard holding perhaps a
credence table, where the bread and wine were placed before they
were consecrated.
The Norman nave of the church has disappeared, but happily it
retains its beautiful Early English character, as when first rebuilt
about A.D. 1200. The lower part of the south wall with the whole
of its western termination is the only vestige of the Norman nave
remaining, and this is sometimes stated to be part of the original
Saxon Church. But the thickness of the wall and character of the
mortar are exactly like those of the Norman arcading in the choir.
INTERIOR OF NAVE, BOLTON PRIORY.
The mortar is fine and powdery and must have been poured in hot,
quite different from that of the later erections which adjoin these
earliest buildings. The arcading of the cloister, formed along the
outer south wall of the nave is of the same Transition-Norman
character, as is also the doorway at its east end into the present
chancel. This doorway has a pointed arch resting upon single
cylindrical shafts, having square abaci, the one on the west inside ;
3^5
having a capital of the usual truncated bowl pattern, with plain
mouldings carried down to the necking, as in Guiseley church, 1151-4.
Originally, however, the church had no aisle, and the interior
must have looked very narrow and long. Doubtless an aisle would
have been added on the south side also, but as the cloister and
other buildings were erected close up to it, the wall was only taken
down as far as the roof of the cloister outside and the six existing
lancet windows were put in its place. But these windows are only
continued to the length of the cloister, on account of the range of
buildings which came up to the west end. This portion of the wall
was therefore not taken down, and on the inside the difference
between the original masonry and the addition is well seen. Each
of the windows consists of two narrow and lofty lights, transomed,
and alternately divided by slender circular shafts, and dog-tooth
ornament, continued from the springing of the arches down to about
eighteen inches below the base of the windows, and terminating in
neatly finished corbels of uniform design. The windows are filled
with excellent stained glass the gift of the late Duke of Devonshire.
A foot-passage runs along the base of the windows, communicating
with a staircase at the base of the west window, and giving read)
access in case of repairs. The alterations in the church seem to
have been hardly completed when the two Decorated windows, each
of three lights, were inserted in the Early English wall of the north
aisle. They retain some interesting fragments of original painted
glass, and it is noteworthy that outside the mullions are flush with
the wall, which shews them to be early in the style. The nave is
divided from its aisle by four large pointed arches supported by
three massive columns, the centre one circular and the others
octagonal, having their capitals enriched with the characteristic dog-
tooth ornament. Above is a clerestory of four lancet lights, with
alternating delicately-cut circular shafts bearing a profusion of the
same ornament. This square four-leaved flower, the centre of which
projects in a point, is a very noticeable feature of the decorative
element in the church at Bolton Abbey, and is thoroughly
characteristic of the latter part of the i2th century, though it is
occasionally met with in late Norman work. It is really a
development of the Norman nail-head or pyramid ornament cut into
four leaves. The roof is pannelled and of low pitch but from its
great elevation gives the interior of the church a very noble and
imposing appearance. It was no doubt put up when the new tower
was built in the early part of the i6th century, and since then it has
been restored.
Services are still held in this portion of the conventual buildings
as they have been no doubt continuously ever since the foundation
of the Priory, although in the time of Charles II. the church was
reported to be in a very dilapidated state and the windows were
316
boarded up. In the ritual of the Austin canons, the nave of the
church was reserved for public use, while the choir was retained
for the exclusive service of the canons. In order that the two parts
should be kept entirely separate, two solid stone screens were put
up, one in the eastern and the other in the western arch of the great
central tower. Before the western wall stood the parish altar, in a
position very near where the present altar-rail is now placed, so that
there was a sufficient passage for processionals behind the altar
SOUTH-EAST ANGLE OF CLOISTER-COURT, BOLTON PRIORY.
towards the south door, leading- into the cloister and choir. There
is a beautifully-finished holy-water stoup in the angle of the two
door-ways, shewn in the accompanying plate. The fact that this
portion of the conventual church was kept for the use of the parish
accounts for its continuous maintenance and preservation while the
rest ot the buildings were abandoned and went to ruin. The
monastic churches of Howden and Bridlington are of like character.
3*7
At Holton the piscina and stone seats of the seel ilia retain their
original positions in the south wall.
The east end of the aisle at Holton has been retained for a.
chapel by the owners of Beamsley Hall, though I cannot find that a
chantry was ever endowed therein. A piscina now in the north
wall, however, betokens the presence of an altar, which formerly
stood here on a raised platform. The organ has been placed here,
a memorial to Mr. Cottingham, the Duke of Devonshire's steward.
Beneath is an arched vault tilled with bones disinterred during the
restoration in 1864 and then permanently covered in. Here
according to the tradition, so energetically preserved by Wordsworth
in the White Dec <>f A'y/sfon, the Mauleverers and Claphams, "face to
face'' are buried upright, like some of those old Viking warriors who
preferred to be placed in death as they had been in life, ready to
face the enemy on the grand awakening. For nursed and reared
as most of them were, in fields of continuous warfare it was the
conviction of these poor pagan soldiers that there must be enemies
to encounter after death just as there had been through life. In
some Irish tumuli opened many years ago on the Curragh of
Kildare a number of erect skeletons were found, the bodies evidently
having been interred with iron spears in their hands. At Bolton
the " oldest inhabitant " has always believed in the tradition, and the
old sexton, // is said, declared he had seen the upright coffins in the
vault, but this needs verifying, though in fairness to this belief and
as offering some support to it, I ought to say it is mentioned as a
matter of fact by Dr. Johnston in 1670. It is quite probable the
coffins with their contents may long ago have collapsed by reason
of their unnatural positions. There are some i8th century brasses
on the floor of this chapel commemorating members of the Morley
family, of Scale House, Rilston, into whose possession the Beamsley
estate passed from the Claphams.
Here is placed what was doubtless the original parish altar, a
massive rectangular stone, measuring 6 feet 5 inches long, 2 feet 10
inches wide, and 7 inches thick. In the middle of its upper surface
is a slight depression almost square in form, 16 by 17 inches, and
divided across its centre by a shallow strip 3^ inches wide, the
purpose of which has been the subject of a good deal of controversy.
Some contend it is the matrix of a brass laid down as a memorial
after the dissolution of the monastery, while others hold the centre
cavity to be a reliquary, shallow though it be. I can see no objection
to the latter conclusion, fora "relic" may be a mere atom, a finger-
nail or a bit of dust, and that this has been originally a sealed
altar-stone I think is proved by the position of the five crosses, four
of them being as usual at the corners of the stone, while the fifth
commonly seen in the position of this shallow receptacle, is opposite
it on the front edge of the slab. No motive can be adduced for the
3*8
position of the central cross saving that the stone was consecrated by
an Archbishop, and not as was generally the case by a Bishop. In
the annals of the Abbey recorded in the last chapter I have shewn
what business relations existed between the monks and the Archbishop
of York, who I have also explained had a manor-house and court at
Otley. It is, I think, exceedingly probable that this stone was
consecrated during one of the occasions when the Archbishop was in
residence at Otley, a few miles down the valley.
TOWER ENTRANCE BOLTON PRIORY.
Another slab here is interesting as being the grave-stone of
John, Lord Clifford, who was made a Knight of the Garter in 1421,
and who in the following year, being engaged in the wars with France,
was killed at the siege of Meaux. His remains were brought to
Bolton and interred in the choir of the Abbey, where this stone
formerly lay. The outlines of the brasses and shields within the
garter may still be observed on the stone.
The exquisite J^arl^ English west front of the church, one of
the purest examples of the kind extant, has in a great measure
retained its enrichments uninjured from the protection it has received
by the adjoining later tower. Had the tower been completed this
line original work would have been taken down, in order to obtain a
corresponding opening from the tower into the nave. The three
vesica panels over the entrance are stated to have contained
frescoes, the subject of the centre one being our Lord seated, with
angels on either side, a very rare instance of external painting. (See
the illustration prefacing this chapter.) The west tower just mentioned
is an exquisite example of late Perpendicular masonry,, begun before
the dissolution of the Abbey and never completed. Many of the
stones are mason-marked, and some examples I annex , the first of
the illustrated examples, the [hour-glass form, is of high antiquity,
being found on the Pyramids of Egypt. It is to be seen in Guiseley
Church. Shields of arms appear above the doorway and the following
black-letter inscription is cut beneath the window : —
In the per of our Cord IttUCXX R ^
began 11 thps fondachon on qu>bo soiol God bauc marcc.- JUHtR.
Here is a curious indication of the name of the last Prior, Richard
MASON MARKS AT BOLTON PRIORY.
Moone , it was however usual for high dignitaries of the church to
assume a rebus in lieu of their paternal name, or even to drop their
name altogether and take perhaps that of the place of their birth
or adoption.* One of the Priors of Bolton was a Thomas de Otley,
but it by no means follows that his real name was Otley, or as old
Fuller remarks some of them, meaning the distinguished clergy,
would be "mimic Melchisidecs," without father, without mother,
without descent" (Heb. vii. 3), so as to render themselves independent
of the world, without any coherence to carnal relations." The date
also is curious as it appears cut in the stone, and should be MY1 XX.,
to signify 1520. Such a method of dating to our eyes looks
Prior Moon left a will dated 151!! June, 1541, ordering his body to be buried in
the parish church of Catton and his chalice to Preston [Long Preston] church "where 1
was born."
320
misleading, but it was a common practice in the i5th and i6th
centuries. Another example of the kind will be found on the screen
in Hubberholme Church. The mention of this year on the tower
of Bolton Abbey is I believe the oldest date yet legible on a building
in Yorkshire. The earliest authentic date, in Arabic numerals yet
discovered in England, occurs in the tower of Heathfield Church,
SOUTH TRANSEPT, BOLTON PRIORY.
Sussex. It is 1445, and the two 4's are like S's with the bottoms
broken off. The date is accompanied by the initials G.S., which are
no doubt those of the builder.
A reference to the accompanying ground plan will suffice to
indicate the position of the various other buildings and parts of the
Abbey, which are all arranged on the south side and are mostly
razed to the foundations. A large ash-tree grows in the middle of
the chapter-house, which is in form an octagon, built according to
the decorative traces of its ruined stalls during the great restoration
BUILt
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32I
about 1300. Tlu- two transepts had each an eastern aisle with
altars, the aisles being divided by t\vo pointed arches, and the
windows all of tin- same (Decorated) date. One of thrill, shewn ill
the accompanying plate, retains some of its beautiful Flamboxant
tracery. A good example of the masonry and mortar of this period
in juxtaposition with that of the twelfth century workers, may be
seen in what has been a vestry terminating the aisle of the south
transept, where is part of an archway and indications of the roof in
the east wall separating it from the Clifford chapel and vault. This
vestry was no doubt added when the Decorated windows were put in.
The mortar is very coarse aiicl pebbly and the stones massive.
A passage led from the cloister to the chapter-house, with the
dormitory above it, while arranged along the south side of the cloister-
court was the frater, which as appears was raised upon a basement.
At the south-east corner is a pointed doorway, which has a cylindrical
shaft with the circular base mouldings and characteristic scotia still
beautifully perfect. The ruins here are thickly enveloped with ivy,
and there is little doubt it conceals a staircase leading to the
dormitory. As we stand here and look upon its stout stem and
dense masses of leaves, the .old ivy seems to mock the bygone
greatness of the holy place, and pushing its tendrils along once
cloistered walls and rootless aisles makes us ponder upon the
vicissitudes and evanescence of all things worldly. We picture to
ourselves the hopes and aspirations, the heavenly longings, the joys,
the sorrows, the pleasures, and expectations, that moved the hearts
and thoughts of those whose span of life was passed within these
sacred walls. We seem to see the procession of monks moving
slowly round the Abbey, amid the lurid light of lamp and torch ;
the great Crucifix and St. Cuthbert's banner leading the way, while
one of those Angel-boy's voices which we still sometimes hear in
Cathedrals, chants in faultless metre the grand old Litany, whose
subdued and solemn cadence is lost ever and anon amidst the
response of the united choir ; " Ora, ora, pro nobis."
The infirmary buildings are believed to have stood between the
choir and chapter-house and the river, but until a thorough excavation
of the site is made nothing definite can be stated about them. The
kitchens and offices lay to the north of the present rectory, which
occupies the site of the Prior's lodgings. The Priory oven near the
kitchens was a huge concern ; its great arch, where oxen or deer
might have been roasted whole, was nearly twenty feet across. A
farmer on the estate once lost sixty sheep, and after considerable
search they were all found safely sheltered within this great oven.
In front of the rectory was the public guest-hall, where strangers
were received and entertained. A provision of mats for the guest-
house is mentioned in the compotus for 1305. This building is well
remembered to have been nearly entire, but little remains now save
322
the old chimney stack, forming a picturesque bit of rockery covered
with ivy and creepers. It seems to have been a quaint old building
constructed chiefly of timber and plaster, and at one end was an oak
staircase leading to an upper room, where it is said Prior Moone
died. In aftertimes Mr. Carr, incumbent of Bolton, used this
chamber for storing apples, and when the building was pulled down
about 1845, tne RCV- Jonn Umpleby, who succeeded Mr. Carr, had a
writing-desk made out of a stout oak-beam taken from the chamber
in which the last Prior died. He also had a table made out of some
old apple trees which grew within the enclosure close by. The
ancient archway across the road behind the Hall, which is a favorite
subject with artists, is the remains of the priory aqueduct, destroyed
by the Scots after Bannockburn, and which was used to convey water
to the wheel which turned the mill. Near here were the priory
fish-ponds. Beside the great gateway, now the Hall, there grew a
magnificent oak-tree, known as the "Prior's Oak," which was cut
down in 1720 (probably when the gateway was converted into a
residence) and the sale of the timber realised ^70.* The monastic
poultry-houses and probably the dove-cote, mentioned in ancient
annals, appear to have stood on the site of the estate-office and
residence, and these old buildings within living memory were called
Overhouses.
Hitherto few relics of antiquity have been found about the
Abbey ruins. Dr. Johnston in 1670 noticed a statue of Lady
Romille, the foundress, in the church, but this has long been lost.
A very good example of an Agnus Dei is preserved on the outside of
the vestry screen in the church. The rector has some fragments of
ancient tiles, also a small playing-marble incised with the sacred
cross, and a small glazed earthen vessel that may have been a table-salt,
which was found during excavations in the choir. A brass coin-shaped
object was also found, which seems to have been used as a pass from
one monastery to another. It is interesting to note the statue of a
pilgrim cut in stone and erected above a contemporary sun-dial on a
buttress on the south side of the tower. He is represented with head
uncovered, carrying a broad flat hat under the left arm and holding
a staff in the right hand. On the breast is a cross, fleury (being the
arms of the monastery), that is each arm terminates in three points,
symbolical (like the steps of the Calvary) of the three Virtues, "Faith,
Hope, and Charity." The pilgrim here appropriately enough stands
above the hour-dial, and near the entrance to the holy fane of the
Graces, seeming to: say, "Come unto me all ye that are weary and
heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
* The warden of the Priory gates is mentioned in a writ dated 1274-5, whereby it
appears that from the time of the foundation of the Priory the lords of Albemarle when
the office of Prior was vacant had only one custodian of the g-ates of the Priory who had
to defend the house from all enemies. Inq. p.m. 3rd Edw. I.
CMA1TKR XXV.
MARTON : A LONG-LOST RELIGIOUS Hoi
Local references to Marlon Priory The Bolton monks' land at Marton in Craven
The Priory of Marton in Cleveland — Records at Bolton Abbey— -Discoveries on tin-
site of Ingthorpe Grange -Was tin-re a dependent cell to Bolton at Marton? —
Situation of the religious house --Old monastic orchard --Family of Baldwin
Description of Ingthorpc Grange.
-' M()NG the archives at Bolton Abbey are many
references to " Marton Priory," and to a long-lost
dependent house or cell at Marton, in Craven, of
which Whitaker, in the History of Craven (page 90, 3rd
ed.) observes nothing is known, nor do Dugdale and
Burton give any record of it, saving that the monks of Bolton had
an estate and the mill at Marton. There can be no doubt that this
refers to Marton in Craven, and that the estate was situated at
Ingthorpe, now a separate township in that picturesque and historic
old parish. Some part of this estate was originally held by the Prior
of Bolton on condition of his burning two candles before the high
altar at Bolton. When the cell or subservient house — for there seems
to have been something more than a grange — was established at
Marton we have no knowledge, but as there was a Priory of the
same name in Galtres in the archdeaconry of Cleveland, it is possible
that confusion may exist in regard to the two places in early grants.
The house at Marton in Cleveland was of the foundation of
Bertram de Bulmer, whose arms, gules billettee a lion rampant, or,
were also those of the Priory. No remains of the house now exist.
It is said to have been endowed with lands in Bulmer, Flaxton,
Sutton in Galtres, Lilling, Marton, Molesby, Burnsall, Woodhouse
(Appletrewick) Cracoe and Thorpe in Craven, &c. Among the
muniments at Bolton Abbey I find the following original grant.
To all to whom this charter &c. I. Kustachius de Rilleston, greeting' &c. confirm
to God and the Blessed Mary of Marton, and the Canons serving God there, in free and
perpetual alms &c. two borates of land in the territory of Crackehou. Witnesses, John
de Kston, Will. Grandorge, Ran' de Otterburn, Godfrey de Altaripa, Will, dc Cuglay,
Will, de Hertlington, Gilbert de Ilybern [Heber?] Henry de Flvetham, and others.
Nearly all these witnesses were Craven men of position ; only
the last named seems to be connected with Embleton, anciently
Elmeton, in the parish of Sedgefield, Durham. William de
Hertlington died in 1292. The Altaripas intermarried with the
ancient family of Marton, and in 1318 Godfrey de Altaripa had
license to castellate his manor-house at Elslack in Craven. Whether
324
the signatory, Gilbert de Hybern is a form of Hibernia or of Heber,
sometimes written Hyber and Hayber, descendants of the Domesday
lords of Marton in Craven, there is no evidence to shew. The arms
of Heber were, however, not unlike those of Cleveland Priory : viz :
a fess with lion rampant, or, in the dexter chief point a cinquefoil arg.
Saving appearances of foundations on the south side of the iyth
century house, now known as Ingthorpe Grange, nothing remains of
the old priory-cell, or chapel, or whatever it may have been, in this
beautiful and retired spot in the heart of rural Craven. But Whitaker
mentions that in his day (a century ago) there was found here a
mutilated basso-relievo in white marble, the subject of which seems to
have been the Apprehension of Christ and Peter drawing his sword,
a species of ornament that was formerly used as a kind of frieze at
the back of altars. From the appended engraving it appears to
be of early i4th century date. This relic of local monasticism
unfortunately is now lost. Many items of expenditure occur in the
Priory accounts of Bolton concerning their possession at Marton, and
in the coinpoius, before mentioned, for 1610 I find also this entry :
Allowance made to the accountants for lands in Woodhouse and Appletrewyk, late
parcel of the Priory of Marton.
It has doubtless reference to the grant stated to have been made by
Henry de Neville of his manor of Woodhouse, near Appletrewick, to
the Priory of Marton, in Cleveland. The canons of Bolton had the
manor of Appletrewick, and, singularly, the Nevilles were patrons of
both houses.
I should not have broached these additions to the already
lengthy records of Bolton, had not these peculiarities presented
themselves, as Marton is not within the province of the Wharfe, but
lies five miles west of Skipton and twelve from Bolton Abbey. But
the place being little known to the outside world, I may continue
this account of it.
Lovely, indeed, is the situation of this long-vanished religious
house among the green hills of Craven. From East Marton an old-
fashioned posy-banked lane, full of the scent of hawthorn in the
spring and the bloom of wild-roses in summer, winds for about a mile
down to the sweet sequestered vale where the old monks dwelt. No
one seems ever to have noticed the chosen spot, or to have penned a
line about it. The house which for the last two and a quarter centuries
has stood upon the site has very likely been erected out of the old
monastic ruins.* An ancient orchard lies on the south side of it,
where many an aged apple-tree still bears fruit of such peculiar form
and flavor that no one can name it. Descendants they are, no doubt,
of the old imported stock planted here perhaps as long ago as the era
* I am informed that the old house was sketched by the celebrated artist, Peter de
Wint, during one of his tours in Yorkshire.
325
of the Crusades . at any rate the monks had fish-ponds at Marlon in
the time of Henry II. The venerable yews hen- too, have probably
yielded many a bow shaft for the Marlon men who marched behind
the "Shepherd Lord" to Hodden Field, while in later times archery
was still largely practised in Craven, and some say that yew-bows
were used even during the great Cavil War. And good execution
they did withal, for there were men like Shallow's friend, old Double
who " would have clapped the clout a twelve score, and carried you
a forehand shaft a fourteen and fourteen and a half that it would
have done a man's heart good to see."
This manor of Ingthorpe, Ungthorpe, or Crake End as it is
variously described, formed part of the monastic estates purchased
by Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland in 1542. Three years later
it was granted by lease for a term of 300 years, with a covenant to
renew for 300 years more, to Anthony Baldwin and his mother. For
more than 300 years the Baldwins resided here, and their descendants
though no longer at Ingthorpe, are still in being. There i> a pedigree
of the family in Burke's Landed Gentry which is correct as to the
Ingthorpe branch, with the exception that "(3) William, to whom his
father assigned (1592) a fourth part of Newsholme," should be a
fourth part of Ingthorpe. From 1483 to Anthony Baldwin will be
found in Burke, and the remainder of the Ingthorpe branch is
presented in the following new pedigree. Hugh Baldwin, Anthoin's
second son, had Ingthorpe settled upon him by his uncle John, the
eldest nephew, John being otherwise provided for.
The house is a roomy old building of three stories with ample
mullion-windows. Over the massive oak pegged east door is a
triangular stone inscribed "John Baldwen Birth was 1671," while on
a panel below are the initials B. H. B. and date 1672, standing for
Hugh and Barbara Baldwin, the builders of the house. It seems that
formerly the name was spelled Baldwin, and an / has taken the place
of e sometime last century. There are good reasons for believing
that the Bawdwens of Stone Gap, Cononley, were of the same stock.
The name Baldwynhill, now Bawdlands in the parish of Mitton, occurs
in a charter of Roger de Lacy of the time of King John. The name
was spelled and pronounced both ways.
Mr. John Barton Baldwin, who died in 1856, was I believe, the
last to reside at Ingthorpe, and he cut off the entail and sold the
property to his cousin Mr. Richard Roundell, of Gledstone in the
parish of Marton in Craven, with whose family it remains. His
eldest son, the Rev. John Richard Baldwin, Indian Chaplain, has
some interesting family relics, portraits, etc., including a receipt
signed by Wentworth, the unfortunate Earl of Strafford, for a fine
imposed on William Baldwen of Ingthorpe, in 1630, for not attending
and receiving the order of Knighthood at his Majesty's coronation.
Pedigree of Baldwin, of Instborpe.
Anthony Baldwin
of Cononley and
Woodside
John,
of Cononley,
(eldest son)
Hugh, of Ingthorpe. =
Rebuilt Ingthorpe 1672.
Buried 18 July, 1692.
Interred at Woodside
with his younger brother
1
-Barbara, d.
of Nicholas
Stead, of Idle
1
William Anthony
of of Marlon,
Smithies etc.
Bridge
John, —Ellen, dau. of Hugh Anthony Thomas Nicholas Mary William, Elizabeth
born Anthony
living in living in living in of
Blakey, ol
1671 Hartley,
London Bradford London Ingthorpe
Bradford
5 Feb. , 1 705-6 1 709
1708 1709 and
(.See Whitaker's Craven.
Bradford
Hartley
|v digrec.)
John, Ellen, dau. of Wm. William, Barbara
Henry Elizabeth
Henr}'
of J=
awley
ofMartoo.by died
Hindley,
Howard,
Ingthorpe /
dice, d. of Anthony without
of Man-
ot Man-
Hartley. (.See
issue
chester
chester
Whitaker's Craven.
Hartley pedigree.)
John, of Ingthorpe-
and Preston, M.D.
-Dorothy, d. Bar
of Francis K
bara Thomas Alice
Chippendall Bapt.
Edmund
Benson,
Born 29 Jan.
'734
lies, of
26 Oct. 1732 s
p. 26 Aug. ,
of
D. June 15,
1704
Knaresbro
D
170
'735
Halton
1
Dorothy
1
Ellen Jo
in, =Mary, dau. of Henry Barbara
Frai
ices
B. April,
B. April, of Ingthorpe
Barton, of Swinton Born B. Sep. 17,
'7°3
1764 solic
itor.
and Ward Hall, Lanes i Sep.,
1767
Md.
B. 3 July,
(See Barton, of Staple- 1766
ob.
s. p.
Mitchell 1765.
M.
ton Park.
Burke's
'793
8 Sep
•. '791
landed Gentry.)
John Barton
Emma, dau.
Brands
Henry Wi
Ham Richard George
Frances
Baldwin
of Major B. July
B. May B.
Feb. B. June B. Aug.
B. Oct.
B. Nov. 21, 179
6 Charles 18, 1798
3, 1800 14,
1803 13, 1810 10, 1812
4, 1814.
M. 1825
Bacon, of D. May
D. Feb. ob
s p. ob. s. p. ob. s. p.
ob. s. p.
D. Nov. 4, 18;
6 Skipton
7, 1802
i
7, 1821
Dec. 28,
(He sold
(gth Lancers)
s. p.
1841
Ingthorpe)
Rev. John
1
Frances Francis
Emilv
Charles
Mary, dau. of
Richard, of
B.
Feb. 28, B.
April 15,
B. Oct. 26,
B. April 24,
C. Lutyens,
East Barton
'833
•835
1839
1830
Deputy
B. 27 Sep.,
D. Oct. 17,
Commissary
1897
General
I
Hon. Canon
Katharine Emily
md. W. B. 1856
Harding Md. Rev.
R.-v. John Marv Dorothy Hugh of Newcastle
B. 18^8 B. 1862 B. i1 64 B. 186^ J-1'- North-
A. md. d. of umbel-land,
W
ickhan
i
— Leec
h. of V icar
Rathkeale Berwick-on-
Abbev. Tweed
Linv
.,-iVk 1880-1896
Rev. Hugh C.
Rev. Alan
Rev. Charles
Rev. Arthur
Gerard
Mary
B. 27 July, 1856
B. 29 Dec.,
B. 23 April,
B. i Dec., 1860
B. 24 Jan.
B. 25 Aug.
Rector of
1857. Md.
1859
Rector of
1868
1872
Moreleigh,
Margaret
Middle Chinnock.
Devon. Md.
Grossman
Md. Millicent
Julia Foxe
(has issue)
1 lowey (has issue)
CHAPTER XXVI.
AROUND BKAMSI.KV.
Picturesque aspects Local families Manor of Beamsley The ('laphanis Beamsley
Hall Risphill and Gibbetcr Troubles of the Reformation Beanislev Hospital —
Ancient terry-house Bolton Bridge Old Roads.
! how delightful are the quiet shades of Beamsley on
a still summer's day ! Nothing seems to disturb the
wonted tranquillity of the place save the murmur of
bees, the music of birds, and the mellowed laughter of
the fresh rivulet leaping child-like athwart the village
from its cradle on the moors. The rustic houses with their posied
gardens stand anywise beside the road, while the unmolested
songsters from field and grove hop in at the open doors, conscious
of the frugal fare that awaits their temerity on table-top or chair.*
What happy memories of freedom and of innocence such pleasant
scenes awake ! Boyhood's days are once more recalled when about
the old ancestral, domains the rhyme used to be sung : —
HIT diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the Mnnii.
as a parody on some old family names, yet the Heys never got the
best of the Moons, although the several old local families of Hey,
Moon, Petyt, and Moorhouse have intermarried time after time.
The Heys are an old race of wheelwrights, who lived in a thatched
house that stood here up to 1875, an(^ 'ts 'U1£e oak-crocks that
supported the well-seasoned cross-rafters of the heavily-turfed roof,
were I should say planted as long ago as the days of strife between
the White Rose and the Red. I present a picture of the vanished
homestead (see next page), shewing old Joseph busy at his work, a
work that is still carried on by his son, George Hey. The smaller
house near it was also a very old building, which had evidently been
restored, and was dated 1675.
The life of an estate is not wholly made up of the doings of its
nobles or lords, else our records would be largely foreign to the soil
and kindred they concern. They would have to chronicle the
achievements, the victories and defeats of the great owners who
spent much of their time abroad, and whose bleeding bodies some
Happy is Beamsley, too, in its liquid refreshment, for no purer spring' is to be
found through all Kngland, and so copious is the supply that in the driest season it has
never known to fail. The good folk respect their precious spring and call the place
from which it issues "Moses' Rock."
tinu's brought, a> \ve have seen in the records of Bolton Abbey, to
find a last resting-place in the home-land of their love and pride.
Such were some of the early lords of Beamsley, who dwelt at
Beamsley Hall, which, long ago rebuilt, still stands amidst ancestral
trees, a memorial of those warlike days. A fortified house existed
here probably in the century following the Conquest, when the
manor was granted by Romille to Helte Mauleverer, in 1175, twenty
years after the Priory arose at Bolton. There is a tradition that a
part of the old house was often resorted to by pilgrims and such
guests who were unable to obtain accommodation at the monastery.
But the present mansion is all of post-Reformation date, and we have
no records to support the tradition.
With the Mauleverers the house and estate remained till the reign
of Edward III., when by marriage it passed into the hands of Sir
Thomas Clapham, of the ancient family of Clapham elsewhere
mentioned, who are supposed to derive their patronym from Osgod
C'lapha, a wealthy thane and fast friend of King Harthacanute.
He held the high office of staller, or Master of the Horse, and was
one of the most constant witnesses to the King's charters. His
sudden fall in 1046 created a great sensation and every chronicler
notices his banishment.*
The eldest son of the first proprietor of Beamsley of this name
was John de Clapham, whom Wordsworth describes as
That fierce esquire,
A valiant man, and a name of dread,
In the ruthless wars of the White and Red,
Who dragged Earl Pembroke from Banbury Church,
And smote off his head on the stones of the porch.
There can however be little doubt that the Earl and his brother were
executed two days after the battle of Danesmoor in 1468, in which
John de Clapham took a victorious part. The family continued
at Beamsley till the time of Sir Chris. Clapham, temp. Charles II,
lord of the manor of Wakefield, the- arms of which town are the six
fleurs-de-lis of Clapham. His daughter Margaret, married Sir Wm.
Craven, of Appletrewick, father of the second Baron Craven, and
nephew of Sir Wm. Craven who married Mary, daughter of
Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, leader of the Parliamentary forces in the
Civil War.f About the year 1700 the estate passed by purchase to
the Morley family of Scale House, Rilston, and Wennington, with
whose descendants it remained until 1831 when it was sold to the
* See Ramsay's Foundations of England, pp. 442-3.
f For Pedigree of Clapham, of Beamsley, see Dugdale's Visit, of Yorks p. 12.
Whitaker mentions that a pedigree of the Claph.-mis was in one of the windows of
Hollin Hall, near Beamsley, but I presume it should be Hollin Hall in the township of
Rathmell, near Settle, an old property of the ftjorleys. The window was probably
removed thither from Beamsley.
33°
Duke of Devonshire and now forms part of the Bolton Abbey
estates.
The Hall contains a fine oak-panelled room, with two shields
of arms, quarterly (i) Clapham (2) Thornton (3) Mauleverer (4)
Otterburne. On a third appear the same arms with those of Moore
and Sutton. The greater part of the house is modern, but the
cellars are very old and have arched roofs. The house stands on a
large glacial mound and is surrounded with pleasant gardens and an
orchard, and there still remain traces of an extensive moat on the
south side. In the grounds are several notable trees, including a
fine medlar.
Beamsley gave name to an ancient family, and there is a charter
among the Hemingway MSS confirming the gift of a toft and
building at Rispil, which is witnessed by Sir Wm. Mauleverer,
Nicholas de Bemeslay and Peter his brother. This shews there was
a house at Risphill in the i3th century. Above Risphill is another
old house called Gibbeter, a name suggestive enough, though in the
Bolton Abbey registers it is sometimes spelled Jubiter. Mons. Perlin,
an eye-witness of the Reformation miseries says that the great lords
had the poor privilege of dying by the axe, while the wooden gibbet
did its work upon the common people. The only record of a local
martyr I can find is the case of Richard Horner, of Bolton Bridge,
who, however, appears to have been taken to York and there suffered
"with great courage and constancy," Sep. 4th 1598.*
One of the effects of the Reformation was the founding of the
Beamsley Hospital, a curious little building still existing on the
Blubberhousesf and Harrogate road. An old inscription over the
gateway informs us :
This almeshouse was founded by that excellent Lady Margaret Russell, Countesse
of Cumberland, wife of George Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland, 1593, and was more
perfectly finished by her only child, the Lady Anne Clifford, Countess Dowager of
Pembroke, Dorsett, and Montgomery. God's name be praised.
* When the Reformation rebellions were quashed the King commanded "such
dreadful execution to be done upon a good number of inhabitants in every town,
village, and hamlet," whereupon more than 70,000 persons were publicly executed,
gibbets being hurriedly set up all over the country, a terrible massacre indeed out of a
total population of under 4,000,000. Where the remains of the old fortalice of the
Cliffords stand on the edge of the moor opposite Norton Tower, is called Gallows Hill,
and has apparently nothing to do with the rocky crevasse known as " Deer Gallows."
f Blubberhouses is an old estate of the family of Lord Walsingham, the expert
grouse-shot, who has a Shooting Lodge here. The curious name may be derived from
the A.-S. verb to blow, bidivan, p. bleoK), s. bloma, a mass of metal, hence the beorh or
hill of the ore-blowers. There are remains of ancient bloomeries on the moor. In
3oth Edw. I., I find the name written Bloberhuses ; and in a charter granted to the
Priory of Bridlington, John, son of John de Walkingham, gave leave to the canons to
dig iron-ore and make forges within the territroy of Blubberhous, and Robert son of
Huntobrith of Killinghall, Robert de Staneley and Henry Turpin, also of Killinghall,
did the same.
33 !
It is a circular building about, thirty feet in diameter, the walls being
i)f rough rubble masonry, and the windows, now modernized, were
formerly leaded. The centre is taken up with a small chapel, lighted
from the roof, while seven cosy rooms radiate from it, each occupied
by a worthy dame, one of whom acts as superintendent or 'mother'
of the house. There are also six other cottages near. The property
is attached to Skipton Castle, and its revenues now amount to about
^360 per annum. In the Skipton burial registers for Feb. 26th
1707-8 I find this entry :
Margaret ( iood^ion, widow of Henry ( iood^ion, laic of Skipton, she was <)j year-
old, and for years la-t past was (iovenie-se or Mother of ye Widows at Beam-ley
llii-pital, in which place she behaved herself with much prudence and discretion.
Had we the recollections of this good woman, doubtless many a
forgotten episode of the troublous days of the Reformation would
be retrieved.
An interesting relic of this age is preserved in an old cottage close
to the Abbey side of Bolton Bridge. Formerly it was the ferryman's
house and there must have been a chapel attached from which the
following inscription was removed when the house was rebuilt —
Choti pat passps by ys wap,
One flue marc here thou'l sap
being cut in black-letter upon an oak-beam, which originally faced
the front entrance. The ground-floors of the cottage then consisted
of a single room, but forty years ago some alterations were made and
the beam was removed to its present position, the oak-panelled
partition however, against which it was placed was then also taken
clown and a lath and plaster wall erected instead. The house is
built largely of river-cobbles and has a flat-headed doorway of simple
mouldings.
Though a bridge is recorded in the Abbey annals to have been
built here shortly before the invasion of the Scots in 1318, and is
also shewn as existing on Saxon's map (1577), the place was long
without any means of passage save by boat or on horseback. The
pack-horses from Addingham came by the present old road as far as
the toll-bar, and then crossing the river they followed the track to the
foot of Storiths Crag, and so over Hazlevvood Moor to West Knd
and Pateley Bridge. The drovers from Skipton travelled the narrow
and picturesque green lane from Draughton (what a quagmire this
must have been in winter!) which emerges opposite the Devonshire
Anns, and taking an old road a. short distance in front of the rectory,
they crossed the Wharfe and ascending the bank, joined the main
route at Storiths Crag, as above.
The old coach road from Skipton by Close House also came by
way of Draughton and the narrow lane opposite the hotel, just
mentioned, then veering to the right to the toll-bar house and over
the bridge to Knaresbro'. The original coach road, however, did
332
not as now go past Beamsley Hospital, but took more to the right
through the fields on this side of Beamsley Hall, and climbed the
bank in close proximity to Kex Beck.* There are two stout
gate-posts in the field opposite the bar-house, which formerly stood
in the present highway, one doing duty for the toll-gate and the
other held the gate of the foot-path by the road-side. One of the
gate-posts still occupies its original position, and is interesting
because of a singular contrivance it exhibits in connection with the
old coaching days. There is a hole right through it, which was
made to receive a bolt connected with a lever and pulley in the
bed-chamber above, so that anyone passing through the bar in the
night-time, called out, and if he were a resident in the neighbourhood,
or some known frequenter of the road, the bar-keeper need not leave
his chamber, but by simply pulling the lever allowed the traveller to
pass through the gate. Of course if they were strangers he had to
dress and come downstairs to receive the toll. The contrivance
saved a good deal of night work, as there was much traffic on this
road in the old days.
Kexmoor near Kirkby Malzeard is in Domesday spelled Chetesmor.
CHAPTER XXVII.
ROUND ABOUT DRAUGHTON.
Local geological phenomena The threat anticlinal, cause ot the Harrogate mineral
waters Aspects at Bnltoii Abbey -Draughton in Domesday — Old local families
Dr. \Vainman Draughton Hall Local relics An old cotton-mill -The church and
-chool Past traditions A Story of witchcraft Close House and tin: Moorhouses
Loc.-il belief in "Red Cap" Pedigree ot i he Moorhiuisi- Loral relics in pn--.es. -ion
of the author -Families descended from the Moorhoiises Dr. Moorhouse — The
Currers of Skibeden Last Skibeden and Judge Nightingale —A crack shot
Local anecdote.
O the lover of natural scenery and especially to those of
a >cientific bent, this neighbourhood teems with interest
of no common kind. The disruption caused by the
i^reat anticlinal, forming a range of rocky hills stretching
^ from Skipton towards Bolton Abbey, is attended with
many complexities in the marvellous disposition of the strata, in the
courses of the streams and springs,* and in the life incident to the
varied character of the surface rocks. The Yoredales have been
thrust up, causing the superincumbent Kinderscout Grit to dip from
them on either side, and in its passage eastwards by Bolton Abbey a
good section of the Yoredale shales is exposed at the waterfall there
above the river. Here the shales have a north-westerly dip, while
lower down the river they dip in an opposite direction, the hard beds
of contorted rock thus coming between these two great shaly
upheavals. These striking still eastwards to Harrogate are the prime
factors in the production of the wonderful medicinal waters for which
that spa obtains its fame.
Throughout its course this limestone upheaval presents most
singular contortions, in the form of a succession of arches, curves or
serpentine bendings along the face of the strata. In a quarry behind
the .}fafc/iless inn at Draughton (a name that might well be applied
to these rocks), and in the Hambleton quarries near Bolton Abbey
station, these remarkable convolutions are seen to great advantage.
The folds shew no breakage and have no doubt resulted from a slow
and long-continued lateral pressure formed along a line of crust-
weakness, and during the crumbling of a vast thickness of overlying
shales and grits, since removed by denudation. The dark-grey
* The water for the village is pumped up by means ot a ram from a sprint,'- situated
at the bottom of a hill on the north side of the village, and thence driven into a capacious
tank, where it is conveyed in pipes to the houses. But this process involves a loss of
about 75"' of the water so pumped, only about a fourth part of the water being secured.
334
limestone is also traversed by numerous veins of calcite, and in
many places the rock appears semi-crystalline.
Though in the watershed of the Wharfe, Draughton is in the
parish of Skipton, and originally formed part of the fee of Romille.
By this house it was subfeudated to Wm. le Vavasour, temp. Henry
II., and in 1315 Adam de Midelton and Henry le Vavasour are
returned as joint lords. In Domesday we read that there were three
carucates of cultivated land in Dractone in 1086, and in Hal tone, six
carucates, and in Schibeden three carucates, shewing that these places
were then old settlements of Anglo-Saxons. The first syllable in
Draughton may contain an A-S. personal name, although in Lye's
Diet. Sax. et Goth. Latinum (1772) dracan is interpreted gypsum, so that
one might conclude this to have been the town of gypsum, in allusion
to its situation besides the striking beds of limestone above mentioned.
In the light of modem science they cannot, however be described
as gypsum, although we do occasionally meet with gypsum or a highly
dolomitized rock in the Yorkshire calcareous beds.* In 1275 the
manor of "Drachton'' yielded to the lord, Mauger le Vavasour, an
annual income of £2 55. 5d.
The place appears to have given name to an ancient family,
and in the Calendar of State Papers I find recorded among the
contributors to the Crusade of 1267-76, four Craven names, viz. :
Robert de la Sale, de Skipton, half-mark ;f William de Drahton 2s. ;
Johannes de Kirkeby Malghedale, i mark, and Rogerus de Gikelswik,
5s. The family of Draughton was still living at Draughton in 1378,
as appears by the Government tax levied on all householders and
adults for carrying on the costly wars with France. There were
three married couples of this name in the village, namely John,
Robert, and William de Draghton, with their wives, in addition to
which there were ten other married couples and seven adults. All
the inhabitants were employed on the land except Robert Bradlay, a
tailor, and John Mason whose trade is not given. It is interesting
to note also at this time there were two families living here who
continued to reside at Draughton and neighbourhood for centuries.
These were the Masons and Wainmans. The registers of York
Minster contain the marriage entry, under date, July 30 1695, of
Robert Wayneman of Draughton and Elizabeth Mason, of York. He
was the son of Thomas Wainman of Draughton who died in 1690
and related to the Wainmans of Embsay. This family afterwards
lived at the manor-house, which they rebuilt, and which still stands
in the village, but is now converted into three cottages. Over the
* See Memoirs of Geol. Sutvey, "Ingleborough" (1890) p. 80.
f The wardship and marriag-e of John, son of Richard, son of Robert de la Sale, of
Timble, was granted 1302 by the Archbishop of York to William le Serjaunt ot
Bloberhouses until the said John should come of age. See Archbishop Corbridge's
Register.
335
principal entrance i> a Miiall shield bearing the initials k M w and
date 1669 in all probability standing for Robert Wainman, who died
at Draughton in 1701, and his wife. Richard, son of Thomas
Wainmain, of Draughton was born in 1664, and married Ann, daughter
of Thomas Leach, and had issue Thomas, Martha, and Joseph.
Of this family was the distinguished Dr. John Wainman, of
whom there is an obituary notice in the Gentleman* Magazine for
1794. He was the son of Oglethorp Wainman, and had a son,
Oglethorp, born in the year 1750, who followed his father's medical
profession in Skipton up to the time of his death in 1800. A family
memorial in Skipton church records that the above John Wainman
practised as a surgeon in that town for upwards of fifty years with
conspicuous credit and success. He was also well skilled in the
literature of his profession, able and courteous, and greatly respected
by all who knew him. Skipton was quite a little University of
medical men at this time, for in addition to the Wainmans, father
and son, there were other distinguished practitioners, including Dr.
Moorhouse, a native of the town, and Dr. Clapham, who afterwards
settled at Whitby.
The old manor-house has long been the property of the Whitham
family, and the so-called Draughton Hall, belonging to Mr.
Coulthurst, of Gargrave, was pulled down about ten years ago and
the substantial dwelling now occupied by Mr. Christopher Wood,
was erected on its site. Bolton Priory had an estate here, which
now belongs to the Duke of Devonshire by inheritance from the
Cliffords. In 1692 I find the tithes of Bolton, Hazelwood, Storriths,
and Draughton-cum-Barwick were farmed by John Winterburn at an
annual rental of ^43 to be paid to the Earl of Burlington in two
instalments, viz. : at Martinmas and on the twenty-fourth day of March.
Of old Draughton families living here from the latter days of
Elizabeth to the time of Charles I., besides the two mentioned, were
those of Oldfield, MoorhoiiM1. \Yeatherhead, Brigg, Xewby,
Thompson, Holmes, Ward, Spurrett. Heelis, Stott, Taylor, Wall,
Simpson, Read, Currer, Rycroft, Milner, Todd, Gott, &c.. while at
Barwick were the Listers and Croukshays or Crawshaws. Some of
these are here yet, including Simpson, Read, Mason and Holmes.
I have seen in the possession of Mr. Henry Simpson some
Edwardian and Elizabethan coins and other relics and curiosities,
including the original copper plate, size twent\-six by twenty and a
half inches, of the celebrated Craven Heifer, engravings from which
are to be found in many old houses and inns (to which it has given
name) throughout Craven. John Watkinson, of Halton East,
purchased that wonderful animal from the Rev. W. Carr, of Bolton
Abbey for ^200, and after exhibiting her in many an English shire
had the distinction of slaughtering her with his own hands in
336
Her dead weight was 150 stones (sixteen pounds to the stone).* Mr.
Watkinson was grandfather to the present owner of the Draughton
manor-house, Mrs. Wheelhouse, daughter of the late Mr. Edward
Whitham.
Agriculture of course has always been paramount in this district,
but towards the end of last century and the beginning of this, almost
every village in Craven had its cotton mill, where now hardly a stone
is left to tell the story of a vanished industry. Addingham, I have
shewn, had a very early factory of this kind, and Draughton, too,
had its little mill shortly afterwards. In the Bolton Abbey registers
for 1802 a fatal accident is recorded as having befallen a little lad
at the Draughton mill, the son of Wm. Phillip, of Halton.
Draughton boasts the possession of some relics of the old parish
constable days, namely, a pinfold and stocks, though the pinfold was
removed when the present handsome little church of St. Augustine
was built on the site two years ago, the foundation-stone of which
was laid in August, 1897, by the Duchess of Devonshire. The
school was erected in 1851 on a site, given by Mr. John Coulthurst,
of Gargrave, and for some years has been in charge of Mrs. E.
Moorhouse Sim.
Many are the traditions, anecdotes, and vestiges of folk-lore 1
might relate of people and places in this my ancestral district, where
within sound of the convent bells of Bolton Priory, generations of
my forbears lived and toiled. No gill in a former day was without
its elf or fairy ; no deeply-banked lane or by-way was without its
barguest, while more than one lonely farmstead was, wonderful to
relate, positively haunted ! Old Grace Preston used to relate
that she had once seen a strange man in the glimmer of candle-light
in the old manor house at Draughton, and when she spoke to him
\& vanished like mist! It is always believed that two brothers once
lived here, and one of them, afflicted with the vile spirit of Cain,
took the life of his partner, who continued to haunt the murderer
and his home as long as he lived, nor was the ghost believed to be
firmly laid even till our own time. Stories of other haunted houses
are current too. Then again the district was terribly troubled with
the mischievous wiles of witches and wisemen, and woe betide
anyone who neglected to nail up the precautionary horse-shoe on
his house and stable door. A man named Edward Peel, who had
married a daughter of Currer Gill, of Draughton, in the early part of
this century, and who then lived at Field House, now occupied by
Mr. Edwin Thornber, had a family of sons and daughters. The
youngest -was named Currer Peel and a fine healthy baby he was
* Our famous Craven heifer has recently been exceeded in sixe and weight by an
enormous Irish-bred shorthorn bullock, which was exhibited at Harrison's Mart,
Carlisle, at Christmas 1895. ^ was over seventeen hands high and turned the scales at
^ stones; being- the heaviest animal of the rlass ever known.
337
born, (a> report went) without mark or flaw upon him. But alas!
the horse-shoe had been by some mischance removed from the door,
and one day when the boy-babe was asleep in his cradle, Mrs. Peel
went out to assist her husband in the hay-tields. On her return the
child was awake and lifting him up, lo ! to her horror and dismay
found he had a club-foot. She vowed and declared to everyone as
long as she lived that the witches or bad fairies had done it, as her
child she said, wa.s born perfect. Be that as it may Currer Peel
carried a club-foot to his grave in old a-
Close House, beside the Roman road through Addingham, is
an old home of the Moorhouses, from whom and which house the
author of this work is lineally descended. The old homestead (now
rebuilt) stood there long before the days of bluff King Hal, and
formerly when old beliefs were rife, was avowed to be under the
special guardianship of an active, yet testy little hob or fairy, who
went by the singular name of Red Cap. A curious composite of
superhuman strength and frailty was this ancient wight. We are
often told that extremes meet, and surely the proverb could not
be better exampled than in the singular character of this mytho-
humanity, who was the very type and ideal of mischief and ill-doing
as well as of industrious toil. He could play his pranks and bring
disaster, as the humour swayed him, or work with might and main
to his own or masters honour, — the spirit of evil it might be lurking
in a righteous breast, the spirit of something burning on the horizon
of Life, which kindled the old fire of pagan tradition and continued
to live in various guises in the long after-time. There can be no
doubt of his pagan forbears, being akin to the race of Kobolcls who
frequented favoured houses to aid the servants in their work. Here
at Close House this venerable sprite had been a good little fellow
in his young days, watching over flock and farm, and we were
always told he had assisted in hay-time and performed sundry
and other work, without any fee or reward, perchance saving an
occasional cup of milk or a cosy nook by the lire-side in stormy
weather. A wonderful creature truly ! But as rumour saith he one
day gave the honest farm-folk the cold shoulder, and ever since has
been wandering through dale and field, an idle worthless wight, no
good to anyone, and tempting others, too, to idle, evil ways. Many
a time have I in childhood's days, tossed the sweet mown grass in
the hay-field, when tired with the rustic work have fallen down
in the warm sunshine and slept. When so caught I have been
teased with having seen Red Cap, though I always declared I
should like to see the imp, but insooth I never did.
These Moorhouses were living at Close House in the fifteenth
century, descendants of one of the three families who settled at
Cracoe and Rilston after the sacking of Bolton Abbey by the Scots
in the preceding century. While at Close House they must have
338
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346
been in frequent communion with.Bolton Abbey, and when the crash
came they were one of the few families in this district who resolutely
held to the faith that had built up the old monastery. They were long
the principal tenants of the Castle, the lords of which were staunch
Protestants, who in troubled times must have looked with some
disfavor on their Catholic tenants, and there is little doubt this was
the cause of the Moorhouses' removal from Skibeden during the
unsettled era of the Stuart rebellion in 1745-6. At least one Skipton
man tried to join Prince Charlie's army, but so strong was the
opposition in Skipton that the authorities raised a "hue and cry"
and the man was caught and thrown into York Castle.
Before the days of railways it was no uncommon circumstance
to find families who had been living on a single estate for several
centuries, and this was particularly the case in rural Craven. But
no one, I believe, has ever yet attempted to elucidate this by descent
of each successive generation in tabular form. The subjoined
pedigree, appropriately commencing with an Adam, may therefore
prove of some interest as furnishing the descent of one of the oldest
yeoman families in Craven, and is offered as a continuation of that of
Currer given on page 248. It may be noted that in the course of four
centuries my own branch of the family occupied but three homesteads,
and it is moreover remarkable that the heads of the house have
successively borne the names of Thomas and John for probably not
less than five centuries.
Thomas, son of Thomas Moorhouse, died at Close House in
1538, and by his will he orders that "a derige and a masse be done
on the daye of my buriall for my Saule and all Crestien saules."
His family remained at Close House until 1620, when Edward
Moorhouse took the "model farm" at Skibeden, afterwards occupied
by Mr. Will Nightingale, the celebrated coursing-judge. The present
writer has a small carved oak box of apothecary's scales and weights,
bearing the Government stamp of James I. It is very ingeniously
constructed, and has the monogram of Moorhouse and date 1624,
cut in front of the box, which there is no doubt has descended from
Edward Moorhouse of Close House. He also possesses a carved
oak cabinet, with an unusual panelled canopy, bearing the initials
and date, "TM.AM. 1656," a plainly-wrought but interesting relic
of the time when there was a great transformation in the domestic
habits in rural Craven, when the old mud hovels were abandoned
and the better-class of farm-folk began to build roomy and comfortable
houses, and even decorate them with home-made cabinet work.
This was made at Skibeden in the time of Thomas and Ann
Moorhouse, whose grandson Thomas, removed from there to the
White House, Elslack, in 1746, where they remained until the
extinction of this branch of the family in the person of the author's
great-uncle, John Moorhouse, who died in 1891. The senior (Roman
Catholic) line, however, still survives in the person of Mr. James
Ellison Moorhouse, of Bradford, whose aunt, Ann Moorhouse,
married James Haggas, of Keighley, from whom all the Haggases,
the well-known mill-owners and manufacturers of Keighley, descend.
Also by the marriage of Nancy, sister of Thomas Moorhouse, of
Elslack, with Richard Ayrton, of Scale House, Rilston, whose
daughter, Ellen, married Wm. England (who died in 1860, aged
seventy), all the Englands of Bingley descend. Many of these
Moorhouses are buried in the choir of Skipton Church, and though
but yeomen of the better class they played their part in the passing
events of the time, intermarrying with the best local yeoman families,
including the Currers, Bensons, Ayrtons, Chamberlains, &c. More
than one member of the family took part in the Civil War, joining
the ranks of Prince Rupert, and assisting in the defences of Skipton
Castle. The present writer owns the sword of John Moorhouse, who
after the battle of Marston Moor returned to Skipton and was laid
to rest with his fathers just three weeks after the great fight in July,
1644.
Dr. Wm. Moorhouse, who is described in the biography of Dr.
Wm. Clapham, as "an eminent surgeon and apothecary at Skipton
in Craven,"* removed I believe late in life to Gargrave, where he
had an extensive practise among the Craven gentry. He died in
1813 and is buried with his wife in the Currer vault in the north
aisle of Skipton Church. By his marriage with Margaret, daughter
of Henry Currer, of Skipton, gent, (see page 248), their lineage in all
its branches, 'in my possession, is traced back to the Earls of
Northumbria before the Norman Conquest.
These old Craven yeomen were after all the very backbone of
the land, the very tap-root so to speak of agricultural developments
in the dales ; thoroughly conservative though they were in their lives
and manners, and slow to move or alter their condition, yet they
gave to Church and State some of their noblest sons. Such were
the Bensons, Currers, Stubbs, and Thackerays. The Currers were
living at Skibeden at the same time as the Moorhouses, but this
branch of the family has never been elucidated. There are good
reasons for supposing they were of the Wharfedale stock, and had
settled here in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Wm. Currer of Skibeden
had a son Thomas, born about 1590, and a son William, born in
1605, who was related to the Goodgeons, and who was accidentally
drowned at Bentley Bridge in 1630. The above Thomas Currer,
who died in 1651, had several sons and daughters, but only Edward
lived to bring up a family, and he married Abigail, daughter of Wm.
Goodgeon, with whose offspring the race of Currer of Skibeden died
out. Their daughters, Mary who died in 1678, and Elizabeth who
* See York Chronicle for May loth, 1875, one of the principal newspapers of the day.
342
died in 1688, were the last Currers of Skibeden. Whether or in
what way they were related to the Skipton and Kildwick Currers I
have not made out. Whitaker quotes a letter dated 1711 addressed
to the Earl of Thanet (3rd ed. p. 384) wherein it is stated that one
Currer was governor of Skipton Castle.
The substantial old house at East Skibeden, occupied by the
Moorhouses, was afterwards rebuilt, and thirty to forty years ago
was the well-known home of "Judge Nightingale," the celebrated
coursing-judge. His house was the rendezvous of agriculturalists
and sportsmen hailing from all parts of the country, and a book
might be written on the life-story of this famous countryman.* He
was the recipient of innumerable and costly prizes and presents, and
many are the stories told of his prowess in the field. He was a
crack shot, indeed he was a wonderful shot, there was no better
through the length and breadth of Craven. I will conclude this
chapter with an unrecorded anecdote of his skill, only giving you a
foretaste of it by remarking that he once killed seventeen snipe on
the Nappa estate with just as many shots, never missing a bird, and
to those who know anything of the shyness of snipe and the difficulty
of getting at them, the fact may seem incredible. He had a
marvellously-trained pointer dog, of his own bringing up, which he
called "Old Duke." At that time it was the custom to shoot over
dogs; much fairer game according to the old school of sportsmen,
than the present method of grouse-driving, when hundreds of birds
are killed in a day. Well, one August the late Duke of Devonshire
had as one of his guests at Bolton Abbey the late Lord Morpeth,
Earl of Carlisle, a famous politician and patron of literature, but a
very bad shot. He invited honest Will to accompany his lordship
and put him in the right way of securing a few birds to his gun.
When they had got on to the moors where birds were plentiful, Lord
Morpeth fired and repeatedly fired but all to no purpose, he could
not bring down a single bird. "Steady, steady," admonished
Nightingale, "take your time, my lord, let the birds rise and watch
the wind," he went on to say. But to no purpose, powder and
pellets were scattered amongst the heather, but not a grouse fell,
"Come," said his lordship at last, wearied with his bad luck, I should
like to see you try Mr. Nightingale, they tell me you are one of the
best shots in the district." "Nay, my lord," came the suave answer,
"I have nothing to boast of, though if you wish I will have a chance,"
* From a copy in my possession of premiums awarded at the first show of the
Craven Agricultural Society held at Skipton on Thursday, 2oth September, 1855, I find
that Mr. Nightingale took the first special prize of £2, of his own giving, for the best
pair of horses, of either sex, for agricultural purposes, worked during the season, the
property of a tenant farmer in the district of Craven, and Mr. J. N. Coulthurst, of
Gargrave, took the prize of £2, also offered by Mr. Nightingale, for the best cob above
fourteen and under fifteen hands high, in the district of Craven,
343
•Tray, take the gun," urged his lordship, handing it to him. So the
farmer sportsman took the weapon and loading it, got his famous
pointer well in hand; then hang! hang! hang! seven birds fell with
as many shots and in as many minutes! "Ton my word," remarked
his lordship on witnessing this astonishing feat, " I would give fifty
pounds to shoot like that!"
At the Duke's table in the evening, Lord Morpeth was loud in
his praises of the Skibeden yeoman's prowess with the grouse, and
next day his Grace sent his head-keeper to Mr. Nightingale granting
him a free day's shooting on the moors. Although the day appointed
was not very favorable and the moor had been well scouted of its
game, he with good "Old Duke" managed to bag about ^5 worth
of birds.
Mr. Nightingale's sister, I may add, Mrs. Atkin, was considered
a very superior woman, and as landlady for many years of the old
Black Horse in Skipton, had the great respect of all who claimed her
acquaintance.
ON THE WHARFE, BOLTON WOODS,
rilAI'TKK XXVIII.
TllkOlV.ll I UK W(>( )!>.-. PO liARIlKN '1'oWKK.
I 'in ( -a-int; charm of Bolton \Voods Wild (lowers Tin- Bishop of Lincoln, .\rclihi--liop
Hen-on and Mr. Ruskin's opinions . \ndsell and l.andseer at Hollon I'he l\e\.
\Vin. ('air < )peninif out the woods with pleasant paths and drives -Tin- Re\. A.
I'. Howes Names of soint- old "Scats " Tin- "White Horse" of tin: Strid I.ud
Islands Harden Tower Inventory in the lime of Lady Anne Clifford -Lite at
Huden Tower in the time of the "Shepherd Lord" Abstracts of his domestic
O3CS Lorest lodges and river-watchers -Local relics Harden Church.
i( ) the woods and hills! \Vh;it a sense of freedom and
freshness there is in the utterance of these words,
rendered all the more attractive- when we are conscious
of the fact that beauty and interest are also enshrined
therein. And Holton Woods are all this, full of never
ending interest, and in their grand expanses, fresh and beautiful and
md though they be as " household words," they are ever as
wholesome food to the weary and of them the heart never tires.
Many a time and in all seasons have we sought their pleasant ways,
in the buoyant freshness of spring, or when thirsting for the refu^i- of
summer shades, and while autumn "nodding o'er the yellow plain," or
even after her tropic-colored robes have yielded to winter's frosty grip,
and our dear protecting Mother lias clothed with her matchless jewels
leafless twig and bough.
But to-day the sun is up, and his golden beams are checkering
the forest glades and throwing long shadows from the old Priory
walls. Away then, like happy elfs of old, let us trip through this
sylvan fairyland, tracing the greenwood paths into umbrageous
depths, where in the sweet poesy of Lycidas —
The mild whispers use
Of shades and wanton winds and flushing- brooks,
On whose fresh lap the swart star sparely looks;
and where the gods seem to have invoked the genius of the forest to
Throw hither all your quaint enamcll'd eyes
That on the green turf suck the honied shower--,
And purple all the ground with vernal flowers.
With no unsparing hand either, for when bounteous Flora reigns the
far-spread underwood is massed with kaleidoscopic coloring, and tons
of nosegays are annually carried off to brighten town homes. The
gathering of roots, I am glad to say, is strictly forbidden, or the
floral glory of these " right ancient woodlands " would soon be gone.
Sweet scenes they are, helpmeets to our earthly joy, scenes that
346
quicken hope and thought in heart and mind, and to which the pencil
of genius and the language of poet and dilettante, owe not a little of
their cunning. Landseer, Turner, and Andsell, amongst artists, and
Wordsworth, Rogers, Ruskin, and Austin, the latest of our honored
laureates, have each and all learned something by the lessons which
these classic scenes unfold. The late Bishop of Lincoln, nephew of
the poet Wordsworth, used to say, if there was one place more than
another engraved on the heart and memory of the poet it was the
scenery of Bolton Abbey. And from the charming life-story of the
late Archbishop Benson, lately given to the world, we gather that
Bolton was to the Primate an ideal place, full of soothing restfulness.
" All the while I am there," he writes in his Diary, " I have a perfect
Sunday feel," a quiet, beautiful peace ! And Mr. Ruskin too reminds
us that it was from Wharfedale that Turner, the artist-genius, drew
much of his early inspiration. He tells us how glad the youth was
to escape from the cramping din of streets, to reach the Yorkshire
hills, where all was calm and, nothing "but curlew-cry in space of
heaven, and welling of bell-toned streamlet by its shadowy rock.
Freedom at last ! Dead wall, dark railing, fenced field, gated
garden, all passed away like the dream of a prisoner."
The late Mr. Henry Whitaker, of Greenholme, tells us how he
once drove Richard Andsell, the celebrated animal and landscape
painter, to see Bolton Abbey. It was a beautiful day in the autumn
of 1842, and the painter, with an eye trained to discriminate Nature's
moods, became quite enraptured with the scenery and the views.
After putting up the horse and phaeton at the inn they started to
walk to the Strid, "but," says Mr. Whitaker, "it was difficult to get
my companion along, he was so constantly stopping to admire the
different points of view." "Stop!" he suddenly exclaimed, "Behold
those cows in the water, what a foreground for a picture and then
what a background, — the old Abbey in the middle distance, and the
rich, tinted scar opposite, with those glorious old trees towering aloft !
Oh, if I had only my paints and sketching-book!" Then he
would make another sudden stop, and exclaim, "Why, this peep
surpasses the other," so that it was with the greatest reluctance he
would leave the place. He lingered some time at the Strid.
On a former occasion, Mr. Whitaker remarks he had been fishing
with a friend in the Wharfe at Bolton, and while sitting at lunch
on the rocks at the right side of the Strid, the Rev. Wm. Carr, then
incumbent of Bolton, came up the rocks on the opposite side.
He was accompanied by a gentleman in dark maroon-colored velvet
shooting-coat. The latter sat down on a portable folding-seat and
began to sketch in a drawing-book which he had brought with him.
They soon afterwards learned that this was the young but already
famous painter, Edwin Landseer, who was staying witH the parson at
Bolton. Not very long after this appeared the world-famed picture of
-I
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348
"Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time," which was exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1834, when the artist was in his 33rd year.*
Mr. Carr was incumbent of Bolton for fifty-four years, and died
in 1843 agefl eighty. He was the son of the Rev. Thos. Carr, the
previous incumbent, and his sister, Dorothy, married the Rev. Wm.
Crofts, whose daughter Mary married the Rev. Wm. Sidgwick,
founder of Christ Church, Skipton, and father-in-law of the late Dr.
Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (see page 294). At the time of
Landseer's visit Mr. Carr was of advanced age, and was no doubt
full of interesting reminiscences of the many distinguished people
who had visited him from time to time at his peaceful home by the
Wharfe. He was an accomplished scholar and a man of fine taste,
having an admirable regard for beautiful scenery, and to him we
owe many of the delicious "peeps," paths, and prospects now existing
in the woods. It is, however, not generally known that the Duke of
Devonshire, who was very partial to walking exercise, and had a
special fondness for his Bolton Abbey demesnes, took no small share
in formulating the designs for opening out these beautiful woods, and
some of the walks and vistas he himself suggested. But there is no
doubt that to Mr. Carr belongs the credit of superintending these
works and planning himself some of the twenty-eight miles of road
and walks and opening out many of the exquisite views.
Bolton, indeed, has been fortunate in possessing in its incumbents
men of historic taste and ripe learning, who while deprecating any
abuse of the great privileges so liberally yielded by the noble owners
of the estate, have preserved a right appreciation of the public
enjoyment of these unrivalled woodlands. The present rector, the
Rev. A. Plumptre Howes, M.A., is now very well known not only as a
good parson but as a good antiquary, who has a more than ordinary
care for the old abbey and its surroundings, while the public are
indebted to him for an admirable little guide, which is a model of
accurate fact and an invaluable help to all who wish to make the
most of a visit to this delightful neighbourhood. He tells us all
about the famous Strid and gives us the names and routes to all the
various "seats" and arbours and best points of view in the far-
reaching woods. There are by the way a number of places
mentioned by Montagu (1838) such as Ungain Terrace (where was a
Lodge, near the Stepping-Stones), Cat Crag Seat, Prior's Seat, St.
Bridget's Seat, Boyle Ford Seat, Hawkstone, (a little beyond the
Strid), Buck Rake Seat, &c., some of which appear to be now lost or
forgotten. Montagu tells us also that just above Friar's Stone Seat
several grave-stones were found, probably where some friars were
* It has been conjectured that the Rev. Wm. Carr stood for the Prior in Landseer's
celebrated picture, but there is no doubt that this central figure of the group was a
well-known artist friend of Landseer's, named Calcott.
buried (?), and though diligent search was made for actual remains,
nothing more was discovered.
Wharfedale I should say has its " White Horse" as well as
Hambleton, but the legend of the " White Horse of Wharfedale "
does not seem to be so generally known and is rarely mentioned in
descriptions of the Strid. It is nevertheless the outcome of a very
old local superstition that when a person is drowning in the Strid,
and how many alas ! have here taken the fatal step to eternity, —
a white horse is seen to rise to the surface of the troubled wave. A
local poem based on the belief appeared in Alaric Watt's Poetical
Album, about sixty years ago, and I give one verse from it : —
Then Janet spake, with her eyes of light,
" O, if I had a fairy power,
I would change this oak to a gallant knight,
And this grey rock to a bower.
Our dwelling should be behind a scr en
Of blossoming alder and laurest
The spindle's wool should lie unspui
And our lambs lie safe in the sin
While the merry bells ring for my k
HTKT sun
ight and me, —
Farewell to the halls of Hothmesley."
This book is now exceedingly scarce and but rarely quoted.
The views from the river-side as you approach the Strid are in
places exquisitely beautiful. Beyond the wooden bridge, near the
refreshment-lodge, the water expands considerably and there are
several picturesque islands, which have been known from time
immemorial as Lud Islands. The divided river which passes on either
side is also called Lud streams, and there is an old lead-working
close by called Lud Cave. I take this word to be a survival of the
Celtic lud, little, or of the Anglo-Saxon hlud, loud or noisy which
is not to be confounded with A.-S. lid, or lud, hence lud^eat, a
postern-gate, or barrier anciently erected on the suburbs of our large
towns and other places leading out to the moors and commons. I
take the name of the Strid to be a similar survival of the Celtic
stri, adopted in the A.-S. strith, Norse strith, modern German streit,
meaning tumult, contention, in allusion to the strife of waters in the
narrow gorge here, and not as is popularly supposed from its being
but a stride across.
We now come to Barden Tower, one of the most picturesque
and historically interesting places in this part of Wharfedale,* yet
singularly no attempt hitherto has been made to elucidate its history
or even to describe it. A search among the muniments at Bolton
Abbey has brought to light many interesting particulars and out-of-
the way incidents concerning life at the Tower during the time of
the " Shepherd Lord," and later the Tower appears to have been
* In 1892 the superb drawing of Barden Tower by David Cox, 24 inches by 34
inches, passed by auction to Mr. Agnew for noo guineas.
built on ;in older foundation, which served as one of the many
Lodges of the wild Forest of Harden in 1'lantagenet times. The
it building now in ruins, was raised in the latter part of the
1 5th century, and is a massive quadrangular structure with its
principal frontage to the south. The walls seem to have been
constructed to defy the assaults of time as of man. There are
detached stones and masses of masonry which stand out threateningly,
yet the tenacity of the mortar is such that with the exception of a
little damage done in the stormy winter of 1892-3, no stone is known
to have fallen within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. The
roof appears to have been originally thatched, and in 1510 I find a
payment made for "soddes for the towre toppe." It was certainly
leaded when unroofed a century ago. Many of our large Yorkshire
churches had roofs of thatch down to the i8th century, and there
are many churches in the eastern counties which still retain these
primitive roof-coverings. Some repairs to the outer walls are now'
(1899) going on, otherwise nothing has been done to preserve the
building for about forty years. The spacious banqueting hall, with
its open fire-place, occupies the central portion, and there are
chambers of corresponding dimensions above. Other rooms occupy
the right and left wings. There were in addition to the great
kitchen, a bakehouse, brewhouse, office or counting-house, pantry,
buttery, laundry, ewry, (where all the linen was kept) and garners or
store-house. A slaughter-house also formed part of the premises.
After the death of Henry, Lord Clifford, at Brougham Castle in
1570, his widow, Lady Anne, Countess of Cumberland, frequently
resorted to the Tower. She was a woman of quiet domestic habits
who cared nothing for the pomp and ceremonies of court-life and
always shunned London, and was never indeed more happy than
when in the retirement of her country seat at Barden. It would
appear that in her widowhood she passed the summer months here
staying well on into the autumn, and wintering at the Castle in
Skipton, where she died in 1581. The following inventory of
provisions at the Tower was taken "at night after soper, bying the
xvnth day of October, in the xvnth year of our Sovereign Lady
Elizabeth (1574-5)-
BACKHOUSM Wheate tlmire, i Inisshell
P UN i KIM Kreade cclxv inde mane [manchet, a fine bread] xxiis
Hl'TTKRYK Beare xii ho^sheade-
(lAKNKKS Hi)])])-
l-AVYKM YVhyle l.iyj^hts [randies] vi stum- xi Ibs. iii qrts.
KnciIYNM Biffe, i [)•(-»• iii <jrirs. ; Mutton, i qrtr. ii strokes; t'appim^ xxxviii;
I If iit-s ; dickens : Sallf'yshe iiii' iiii" xiii tyshe [.4 hundred,
4 -.core and 13]; Otemeill ; Kid hen tee ; Salt
Si.AfdHTMK HorsK. Tallow xix sto. ii Ibs.
The next day we find another note about "Whyte liyghts," telling us
where and how the Tower was lighted. There was expended in
352
"soper-lights"'to my Lady's great chaumbre, i, th' entre' i, th' all, ii,
countyng house i, small buttre iiii, kitchen iiii, larder iii; starres
[staircase] i; total i Ib. iii qrtrs."
After the death of this lady in 1581 the Tower was occasionally
visited by her son George, Lord Clifford and his wife, the Lady
Margaret, but the Earl's extravagances compelled him to lease it for
a few years (1598-1605), after which it does not seem to have been
occupied again until after the Civil Wars, when it was restored by
the famous Lady Anne Clifford, as an original inscription on the
outer front of the building narrates.
A lively picture may be drawn from the items in the subjoined
schedule of domestic expenses in 1510, when the "Shepherd Lord"
was in possession of the Barden estate. It has not before been
published, and it gives us a glimpse of the inner life of the old
homely fortress in the Wood, while the storm was still brewing which
led to the mustering of the stout hearts of Craven, to the trimming
of yew-bow and battle-axe, which gloried with the Forest chief on the
bloody field of Flodden. .Henry, Lord Clifford, as is supposed,
passed his young manhood in concealment as a shepherd among the
fells of Blencathra, in Cumberland, during the bitter contest between
the rival houses of York and Lancaster, his father, "the Black-faced
Clifford" a staunch Lancastrian, having fallen in 1461, and all his
estates were confiscated.* The royal union, however, of 1485,
restored the ancestral titles and estates when the "Shepherd Lord"
of Skipton, &c., was in his thirty-first year. But the life he had led
among the lonely hills ill fitted him for the spendours of the station to
which he was raised, and for the greater part of his life he chose the
peaceful seclusion of the Lodge which he rebuilt in Barden Forest.
ABSTRACT OF DOMESTIC EXPENSES OF THE "SHEPHERD LORD" IN 1510.
The xxth day of Octobre Anno re Henr octavi secundo payd to
Bartolemewe Ges yt he laye downe in reward to syster Jane of
Esshold ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iii*.
It to Raype for corde to the Clokk ... ... ... ... ... vid.
It to Ric. Jenkynson yt he gaff in reward to the priors servaunt vid.
It to George Blenkansop yt he gaff to a man yt had his horse
stollen iis.
It in reward to mason wyffe alms ... ... ... ... ... vmd.
It to George Blenkansop for shoying the sumpter horse ... ... viid.
It to my Lady for corde ... ... ... ... ... ... ... imd.
It payd the xxiiiith day of Octobre I
for my lorde expence at Skypton ' .. ... ... ... inis. id,
It to herres the horse m'shall iii*. iiiid.
* No doubt more has been made of the "Shepherd Lord's" concealment than the
circumstances warrant. He was estranged from his estates it is true, but the place of
his refuge must have been generally known. Henry Hartlington, Esq., for instance, in
his will dated 1467, bequeathed to him some valuable gifts, including the squire's own
sword and a standing goblet of silver, gifts that would be publicly known and talked
about.
353
Ii to George Blenkansop for a clothe & a Brydyll ... ,. ... xx<A
U to the lokke smyth ... ... ... .. xii</.
li tin nali"~ at Skipton ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iu/.
Il In l.angskerlh lor his boorde ... ... ... ... ... ... xii</.
Il to lederston for liy- roMev lor herres ... ... ... ... \-\\\d.
It to Jenkynson yt my lorde borrowed ... ... ... ... iiii//.
Itm for Butter to the horse ... ... ... ... ... ... iiiirf.
Itni for my lord's sumpt.' horsemete fro' Appulby to Skypton ... xmis.
It to Thomas Kooke for his coste furth of Westmeter ... ... x'lld.
It to Robert langskerth for his boorde... ... ... ... ... x\\d.
[t to federston when he cam afor furth of Westmeter ... ... vmd.
It for carreyng1 of the gromes of the steble bedde ... ... ... viiirf.
It payd to Kdward Smyth son for ii Brytlyll Bytte and a plate
locke ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ins. niid.
It to the lockkesmyth of Skypton ... ... ... ... ... v\d.
It to the warden of the freres of hertilpole ... ... ... ... viiirf.
It payd to Antony Kyrkhowse for an axe ... .. ... ... via?.
It for his dener at Skypton ... ... ... ... ... ... iio?.
It to Kic Jenkynson for the dyse ... ... ... ... ... v\d.
It to Lowes the xxixth day of ( )ctobre for carreyng a Swanne from
Appulby ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xnd.
It in reward to ii masons yt my lord sent for... ... ... ... iii.v. mid.
It payd to Xpofer ffederston on All hallows day for his coste into
Nythcrdalle ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... x\\d.
It payd to Bryan Skayll for all his boorde yt is behynde afor this
day ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... vs.
payd to Sir Willm [my lord's chaplain] the vth day of Novembre
for a q'ters wage ... ... ... ... ... .... ... vi.v. viiid.
It to Kic Wylkoke the same day for a quarters boorde of the scid
Sir Willm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xs.
It payd the vith day of Novebre to Henry Lambart for his boorde
wag-e afor this day ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ix.v. ii;/.
Nov. It for Carreage of a Brawne [a lioarj & oy'r stuffr u>
Harden ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... vino?.
I'ayd to Thomas Smyth for vi bands &. vi crokes & for work vng
of the same ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ix.v. vii</.
It foi- Spykynge ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iiii</.
It to Thomas Sotehill yt he lent my lord to offre to ye p'nyte ... ixd.
It In J;mie* Carr yt hi- ^'aff my lord to offre to st-ynt \\'illm ... xxd.
It to the prior of Bolton for ground enc-lo>ed within the p'ke .., vi.v. \-ili</.
It tor the tith ol ' Harden Skole xl^/.
Item to my lady yt she layd ilowne to my lord ol mysrewle and to
-<-viit lay light... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iii.v. inid.
Item for v playes on Crystemasday ... ... ... ... ... xiii.s. iiii(/.
,, payd to the playhers of Hallyfax on saynt Thomas day li\
the hande of Bart (ic^ ... ... ... ... ... ... iiiii-. \\d.
,, On Newyere day to the pson of the castle for his coste to my
lord Conyhers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... v.v.
to our lady of Bolton light .. ... ... ... ... ... ii.v.
to a frere ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. viiirf.
payd to George Blenkinsopp yt he layd downe to my lord & my
lady and my mastreshis for ofieryng on ChrySCtmafi ... ... \\v. \d.
payd to Henry Ilolkar for a drome and shavvmes by the hand of
Barth Ges ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xxs.
It the vith day of January to the hyrde of Crokerice hnlf h}'re ... ii.?. vid.
354
It to the hyrde of Holden for halfe hyre ... ... ... ... vs.
It to Bartyll Gcs yt he layde downe for the plowe light in Ylkeley iiiirf.
It a pot ayll at Skypton ... ... ... ... . .. ... ... via'.
Item in reward to the priores of Esshold ... ... ... ... xiiiis. iiiirf.
It to nir. forster the same tyme for ffreshe acat' in Harden ... xs.
It for the prisoners at Appulby ... ... ... ... ... ... xl</.
It to our lady lyght at Skypton ... ... ... ... ... ... iis.
It for my Lords offerand on Candylmas day ... .., ... ... xxrf.
It to my ladys offeryng ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xxrf.
It to my lady for grene gynger and treakyll ... ... ... ... xxrf.
It for iii Sakryng belles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... us.
It for my lords offeryng' and my ladys at polles ... ... ... iii,?. iiiirf.
It tor my lords offeryng on good fryday ... ... ... ... vd.
It my ladys offeryng the .same day ... ... ... ... ... \-d.
It my iii mastreshis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iiirf.
to my lord at the sepulcre ... ... ... ... ... ... iiirt".
My lord and my lady when thei tooke ther rights ... ... xd.
iii of my mastreshis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iiirf.
It to a proctor of seynt Robt ... ... ... ... ... ... lit.?.
It to seynt Antony ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iii-.
It to my lord to offre & to my [lady] at the resurreecon ... ... v\\\d.
my iii mastreshis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... \\\d.
It for offeryng on seynt george day ... ... ... ... ... vmd.
It to Thomas Sotehile for the mynstrelles ... ... ... ... iiiirf.
It to Mr. Steward for a levery to the clokke maker ... ... ... vis. vd.
It for a levery Jakkett to yong Long the pypur ... ... ... vi.v. vd.
It payd to John Blenkinsopp the firste day of may for the ffeaz of
the excheker de An 11 ... ... ... ... ... ... iiiili.ix.v.
Itm payd the xiiiith day of May for carreage <>( a tone wyne from
Yorke to Harden by the hands of Roger Wharton ... ... xiiii.?.
In reward to xpofer smyth for brekyng of a bowe at the musters \-\\\d.
It for di a yere wage afor this day to Sir Willm ... ... .. xiii.v. iiiirf.
Itm in reward to a woman of Skypton for hyr merreage ... ... iii.?. iiiirf.
Itm for a wombyll ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... iiiio'.
Itm to twoo widowes for the lawnde springe ... ... ... ... iii.?. iiiia".
Itm payd for palyng when my lord was at London of Harden pke
to Robt Garth by Bardie Ges xxv.?. viia".
Itm to Mr. p'son to bye waxe with to seynt Radagunde at Skypton x\d.
Itm for iii stone yren [iron] Boght at Penreth ... ... ... iii. Ixd.
My Lords offerand on relique sonday ... ... ... ... ... xd.
It for mendyng the towre toppe with sodde ... ... ... ... iirt".
It to Mr. Gerard for a Pagg pype ... ... ... ... ... xiiiia?.
It for strynges to a fedyll ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i\\\d.
It to John Blenkinsopp for Crowners ffee ... ... ... ... xiii.?. iiiirf.
It does not appear, at any rate in his latter days, to which these
items refer, that he was altogether the recluse one has supposed him
to be. The entries shew that he resided at Skipton as well as at
Barden Tower, and that feasting, sports and revelries, formed part of
the year's programme. Ales, wines, and delicacies were provided
with a lavish hand. I have not printed these items, which include
almonds at 3d. per lb., "well-chosen" dates at 4d. per lb., the best
prunes, raisins, licorice, mace, saffron, &c. Coal must certainly have
355
been a luxury, yet I find Sd. a quarter paid for " S quarters of coles."
Salt-fish was brought in wains from Hartlepool, doubtless by the old
road through Ripon and 1'uteley Mridge over (ireenhow Hill.
The "Shepherd Lord" kept the saints' days with feasts and
jollity and music, and right merrily went the pipes and fiddle-strings
in the old banqueting-hall at Harden Tower. I find a company of
players from Halifax engaged on St. Thomas' Day, when some of
the hogsheads of "nut-brown" always kept in the kitchens, would
grow all the less for their coming. The wooden benches were then
covered with hay-cushions or even with loose hay, and the men
quaffed their ale out of wooden mugs, partaking maybe too, of the
good old-fashioned raisin-cake, which one rarely sees in the Dales now.
Christmas Day was kept in royal style , scarlet-berried hollies
and sprigs of evergreens growing plentifully in the wide woodlands
around the old Tower, decked wall anil buffet and window-sill and
mummers- with blackened faces went about ; though painted visages
were forbidden by law in 1511, two years before Flodden. There
were also other games and merriment as well as special dramatic
performances. Strutt tells us that the interlude and sermonium, or
secular play were of greater antiquity than the religious plays, and
that the latter were taken up by the ecclesiastics in order to make
some of the gains which the strolling companies of tumblers, minstrels,
actors, and jugglers used to make. The lord of Harden also favored
by gifts the old bride-ales or weddings, when there was generally a
morris-dance, which also formed part of the Easter and May games.
We find him presenting 3s. 4d. to a woman of Skipton on her
marriage, which singularly is just the amount of the fine imposed by
the Forester of Crookrise on every bride " cumynge thes waye who
shulde eyther give her left shoo or ins. iiiid. by ryght of custome
or gatecloys ? That was at None-go-by (Crookrise Lodge) on the
road between Skipton and Rilston. The old lord also kept a piper
of his own, and I find him paying as much as 6s. 5d., equal to at
least ^4 of our money, for a new livery jacket for the braw musician
to captivate the company on some high festival , or occasionally like
Chaucer's miller, he might bring the good folk to their doors, when
perchance the bagpipes got played out and required replacing. A
new bagpipe it seems cost is. 2d. in 1510, and who shall doubt that
this very instrument led the way before the little army of Craven
warriors that marched behind the "Shepherd Lord" up dales north-
ward away to the memorable Field of Flodden ? The name of at
least one local man appears in the list, who doubtless bore his bow
well at that famous engagement. It is Christopher Smith, who for
his skill in " breaking a bow " at the muster receives from my lord a
reward of 8d. One might go on for pages yet, noting and reflecting
upon the various items of interest which these old Dale accounts
present. But I must stop.
356
There is also a list of about 40 officers and servants maintained
at Barden by the " Shepherd Lord " whose wages were paid at the
Tower, and it is noteworthy that not a single Demaine, Petyt, or
Lister (the oldest existing local families)* is among them. A
quarter's stipend amounting to 138. 4d. each is paid to Sir Steven
Lancaster and Sir George Kerton, one of whom was no doubt
chaplain at the Tower. The parsons it appears had the choice of
135. 4d. in money, or one quarter of wheat worth 6s. 8d., and 45. in
money, and one robe or gown annually, but they seem to have
preferred the cash. The steward's salary is 25$. a quarter. His
lordship kept his own barber at Barden, who receives 35. 4d. a quarter.
In 1511 the good lord journeyed from Appleby to London, and the
cost of the journey out and home, including horses'-meat, was
^12 2s. 4d. He had one of his chaplains with him and a numerous
retinue, some of whom it appears went from Barden; wages being
paid by the steward at Barden for a quarter ending Candlemas, 1511,
" to trios yt were att home when my Lorde went to London."
There were also alms-folk at Barden who received bi-annually from
his lordship ^3 QS. 4d. To all these hitherto unrecorded facts much
else might be added.
There were six lodges or strong-houses in the Forest of Barden
at this time, namely at Barden (the baronial residence) Drebley,
Gamelswathf (Gamsworth), Holgill (Hougill), Laund and Ungayne
(opposite the Abbey) where the keepers resided who were responsible
for the safe custody of the deer and other game , and there were
also two houses occupied by the river-watchers, whose duty it was to
provide fish at such times as required and also to prevent poaching.
The Tower was restored in 1658-9 by Lady Anne Clifford, who was
born at Skipton, but was often at the Tower when journeying from
one of her castles to another. It remained entire until little more
than a century ago, when the lead and timbers of the roof were
removed.
The farmhouse and refreshment-rooms opposite, where the
caretaker lives, adjoins the chapel, and may possibly have been the
residence of the chaplains in former times. Here are preserved
* There do not appear to have been any Demaines or Petyts in Wharfedale as
early as 1378. In the Poll Tax lists for that year I find other French families such as
Lawpage (Le Page) at Austwick, Paris at Coniston, and there are Littstres at Austwick
and Hawkswick. The Demaines anciently wrote their name De Maine, after the
province in Normandy. Of this family was the late gallant Sergeant Henry Eteson
Demaine, grandson of Thomas Speight, of Beeston, Leeds, who was killed in Oct.
1899 in the terrible charge at Elandslaagte during the present Transvaal War. Though
only 25 years of age he was a noble-minded youth; his last years having been spent in
works of charity, in attending the sick and preaching to the miserable and fallen in the
slums of Glasgow. On hearing of his fall a special memorial service was held in St.
Philip's Church, Leeds, to which he had been attached from a child.
f Gamsworth for about three centuries has been the home of the Holmes family.
357
various antiquities, including stone querns or hand corn mills, a
Roman spearhead, found here in August iXo.S, an old key of the
Tower, and there were formerly a number of iSlh century halberts,
all dispersed but one, which remains to be seen. It appears that
during the Stuart rebellion of 1745, to which I referred on pane 340,
the greatest precautions were taken in the parish of Skipton to
prevent any untoward outbreak. The militia were called out and
all Papists wen' under the strictest vigilance. At I.olton Abbey is a
manuscript entitled "A Record of Drums. Colours, and other
Particulars belonging to the Militia, 1745, at 1'iolton Hall," from
which it appears that there were then at Harden Tower 45 officers
pikes and stalls, 30 halberts, 30 drums, and .\X drumsticks. All
ready for service in case of need.
The chapel, as appears by the Cliffords accounts was originallv
a private foundation, and erected into a free church after the
Reformation. It has never possessed the right of baptism or burial,
but marriages appear to have been occasionally celebrated therein.
In the Skipton registers for February 4th 1666-7 I find this entry:
Laurence I.owrorke and Julian Demand <>f this parish, married at ye Chapill at
Harden Tower.
It is now served by the rector of Bolton, being open everv Sunday
afternoon for public worship. The style of the church is late
Perpendicular, and of somewhat peculiar construction, with a porch-
tower, at the west end. The windows have a very domestic
appearance. The interior was judiciously restored by the late Duke
of Devonshire about fort}- years ago. It contains nothing of interest,
but there is a hatchment of the fifth Duke of Devonshire (who died
in i<Sii) which unfortunately is inaccurately represented. As a K.d.
his arms are shewn quartering Boyle on one shield, surrounded by
the Garter, but on the other shield, which, to be correct, should have
his arms empaling those of his two wives, only the arms of the wives
are upon it, both being quarterly, viz: ist. wife, Spencer and
Churchill, and 2nd wife, Hcrvey and four quartering, making it look
like a shield of eight quartering.
Harden Bridge, like Bolton Bridge, was of timber up to about
the time of the great Civil War, when it was reconstructed of stone.
An inscription upon it reads that it was "repayred at the charge of
the whole \\Yst Riding, 1676."
CHAPTER XXIX.
THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DESOLATION TO SIMON SEAT.
Posforth Gill waterfall — A great flood — Romantic gorge — Bounds of the Forest of
Harden — British evidences — An old trackway over the moor — Remains of ancient
bloomeries — In the Valley of Desolation — Deer still wild there— On the top of the
moor — Strange rocks and wild plants— Truckle Crags, old rock-shelters— Cairn of
the "Devil's Apronful" — Simon Seat — Curious rock phenomena Glorious view
Remarkable depression on the moor — Geological peculiarities — Lord's Seat —
Boundary of the Forest of Knaresbro'.
HE few mile's walk from Bolton Abbey through the
Woods and up the Valley of Desolation by Aigill
Head to the top of Simon Seat must be recommended
to every lover of a moorland ramble. All that is
asked of him is to keep to the paths and close the
gates he passes through. The descent from the fell-top may be
made to the high-road, returning by Harden Bridge and the Tower
or Strid. Crossing the long wooden bridge in the Woods the main
road may be followed to Posforth Gill Bridge and from thence an
ascent may be made of the romantic gill to the waterfall, or a nearer
route to the waterfall is to ascend the road to the Deer Park Lodge,
whence a path leads direct to the fall. In either case it is a long
but pleasing ramble, and on a bright open day the bracing air and
fine moorland scenery will be greatly enjoyed.
The old guide used to relate with a smile, that on one occasion
he accompanied a very garrulous party of ladies and gentlemen to
the head of the gorge, when one of the gentlemen remarked to him:
"My good fellow, how much further is it yet to the fall?" The old
fellow answered: "Just a minute or two, sir, as soon as the ladies stop
talking you can hear the roar /" And a marvellous roar there is, too,
especially if you can brave the path after a deluging rain. I
remember being told of an exceptionally heavy flood which ravaged
the gorge during a violent thunderstorm about twenty years ago,
when the rolling of rocks and the cracking and falling of trees could
be heard nearly a mile distant. At that time there was a moss-hut
standing upon an elevation just below the waterfall, which the surging
waters completely demolished and carried away in a hundred
fragments. The iron thongs which bound it to the rock were
snapped in twain, and the monster stone itself was dislodged and
rolled into the stream, where it remains to this day, with portions of
the iron fastenings still upon it.
359
To many visitors the mile or more of Posforth Gill may even
be preferred to the main valley of the Wharfe, which it joins. While
the gill is much narrower, the loftiness of the surrounding acclivities
which are well wooded, with the rock-broken stream tumbling below,
give it a grandeur and romantic interest not found along the more
open cour>>e of the ever beautiful Wharfe. The stream in Posforth
POSFORTH GILL WATERFALL.
Gill forms one of the important boundaries of the old Forest of
Harden, and among the Moorhouse (Skibeden) papers I find the
following seventeenth century citation of its limits on this side of
Wharfe, which may be fittingly introduced here. In it mention is
made of many familiar and some unfamiliar landmarks:
36°
THE BOUNDERS OF THE KKOREST OK BARDEN upon the East side of the water ot
Wharfe as the same is divyded from the Manor and Lordship of Apletreewick and the
fforest ot Knaresbrough and Storeths and Hazlewood.
FIRST. Beginning' at the Eastsycle of the Water of Wharfe at the foote or nether end
of one Litle Brooke or running Water called ftirrbeck, which water divydeth between
the fforest of Barden and the manor of Apletreewick, and following up the said ffirrbeck,
unto the head thereof, at head or upper end of the Enclosures, and from thence up ye
sayde Water unto another (rill or dough, called Ormsgill, and so up the said Gill to a
place called Lyards seat and from l.yards seate upp the sayd syke unto a standing
Water on ye topp of the Mountaine called the Blay Tarne and from Blaytarne unto a
standing stone called the Rocher, atid from the Rocher eastwards unto ye nether end
of one litle sike caller! Seavy syke and so up the sayd sike unto the head thereof. And
from thence unto a place called the hardgate end. And from the sayd hard gat end
unto a place called Gavling maw head and from thence unto a place called Black Gutter
and from the black gutter unto a place called the Earles seate and from the Earles Seate
unto a gutter above Harden head and from thence unto Harden head, and from Harden
head directly over ye Moss (as Heven water divydes) unto a place called Whitwhamhead
and from thence downe Whitwham unto High gill loot and -;oe downe Highgill unto
1'osforth gill head and soe downe Posfortli gill as the water divydes unto the water ot
Wharte.
Posforth Gill bt-ck is a vi-ry <>ld boundary and in its name there
may lurk some indication of this, namely in the Celtic pbs, union (to
unite) and ford, a way. Aygill beck, which joins it higher up,
(corruptly written High Gill in the above perambulation) has very
likely also its root in the Goidelic Celtic aw, old Norse c?, meaning
running water, a stream. We have plenty of traces of the old Britons
in this moorland territory, and I have little doubt that the substantial
pathway across the moor from Aigill House, was originally a British
trackway leading from Brown Bank over the heather to Simon Seat,
whence it can be traced no further. The path singularly is strewn
with fragments of iron scoriae, leading us to suppose the presence in
former times of moorland bloomeries somewhere in the locality. I
have made many enquiries but cannot learn where it has come from.
Above Posforth Gill waterfall you follow the path, having the
beck on the right, into the Valley of Desolation with its evidences of
the Glacial epoch in the shape of massive striated boulders and
deposits of clay and debris. The name, however, only originated
about seventy years ago when a furious storm wrought terrible havoc
among the oaks and other growing timber in this wild rocky little
valley. Some of the effects of that great storm are visible even at
this day in the uprooted and scattered trees standing out black and
gaunt from the fell sides, while many have been cleared away within
my own recollection. At the head of it as you look back the scene
is wild and lonely and is particularly impressive when viewed in the
sombre light of evening. Away to the south rises Broad Shaw and
the Nab, where if you look along the crest of the hill you are almost
sure to descry some of the native red-deer, which are avowed to
roam these fells unmolested. They are descendants of trie ancient
race of wild deer, that once abounded in the hills and forests of
36i
Craven. In 1654, b\ ,i-ivniu-m made between the Countes> Uowager
of Pembroke and Kli/abeth Counters of Cork, ;i herd then wild was
driven into the " Farke of Burden, which was lately walled in by the
said Countess of Pembroke," there to remain "until such time as
there shall be a parke walled in and made staunch at Bolton or
Stedhouse by the Countess of Corke." The herd now numbers about
forty head, and in the summer season the animals are very shy. and
usually seek the most sequestered spots on the moors, but in winter
when food is scarce they descend to the lower ground and allow
themselves to be fed.
SUMMER HOUSE NEAR SIMON SEAT.
Passing now through a fragrant pine plantation the path
presently crosses the beck, and leaving Aygill House a short distance
to the right, veers northward, parallel with the beck, towards Simon
Seat (1592 ft.). Away on the heather to the right is a large rocking
stone, which in all likelihood once possessed properties of good or
evil, like the rocking-stones of Brittany and Cornwall . also there aiv
two other conspicuous stones a little to the north of it, which go by
the names of "Cow and Calf." Further away, overhanging Redsha\\
Gill the denuded grits present similar fantastic forms to those at
Brimham, and one of them has a large cavity in it, no doubt due to
weathering. The country folk hereabouts call it the Punch Bowl.
362
The botanist and entomologist too will find this a rare hunting-ground.
It is moreover one of the very few localities in Yorkshire where I
have found the pure white heather. Here and there among the
heather grows the hardy cranberry ( V. oxycoccos) and there are large
beds, too, of the pretty cowberry or red whortleberry ( V. vitis-idaa)
with its pale green underleaves and red-ripe fruit. Many of the stones
hereabouts present curious freaks of weathering ; one being shaped
like a human head and has eyes, nose and mouth complete. Another
looks almost like a lion couchant, and a third has the appearance of a
large open-mouthed frog, or even crocodile. These resemblances
SUMMIT OF SIMON SEAT.
must have impressed the old British denizens of these high moors,
who were always ready to deify every rock, stone, or natural object
that possessed any extraordinary aspect or peculiarity.
The path runs close beside Truckle Crags, which have all the
appearance of British rock-shelters ; the largest stones having been
under-dug on the sides least exposed to the elements, forming capital,
if primitive, house-shelters. In one of these cavities, I have been
told, -some sheep-stealers many years ago killed and cut up one or
more" sheep, which they^hid- and carried off piece-meal in bags so as
to allay suspicion. About two hundred yards to the south of this
group -of rocks is a cairn of stones locally known as the "Devil's
Apronful." It is about forty yards in circumference, and may
possibh ( over the dust of some old Celtic hero, governor of the rude
tribes of these wild moorlands. An upright stone below the cairn
Ins on the west side three round holes in it, one of them quite four
inches deep.
The lofty group of rocks now seen ahead of the famous Simon
Seat (shewn in the annexed engraving from Mr. Pollard's photograph),
are also most strangely marked, and it is difficult to decide whether
these pecularities are wholly due to natural weathering, or whether
some of them are not the result of human fashioning. Many of them
are no doubt concretionary particles due to an excess of carbonate of
iron deposited in the stone along lines of bedding and forming iron-
hard knob-like excrescences. The surfaces of many of the rocks art-
covered with these peculiar little knobs or nipples, with here and
there a basin-like cavity, and small curiously-formed orifices and
holes that look as if they had been purposely drilled. In my Craven
Highlands (1.^92) I have devoted a few pages to a discussion of these
singular appearances and I see no reason to alter my conclusions
regarding their service in the superstitious rites of the old Britons
whom we know occupied these high, commanding moors. That
they belonged to the School of Simon Druid, the Simon Magus of
Scripture, after whom the hill may be named, I think I have also
sufficiently shewn,* likewise that the land whereon these rock-nipples
occur is called after them Pock Stones Moor.
Glorious is the view from this mountain temple on a bright
summer's day. Readily may we conceive in the old Beltein times
when fires of thanksgiving bla/ed on every mountain top, the hues
of a liery sunset reflected on the faces of the assembled throng, while
notes of praise and prayer were uttered to the unknown (liver of all
earthly good. To us who have our stone-built temples of worship in
the vales, these sacred hill-shrines of our pagan ancestors ma\ seem
uncouth and strange, yet let us bear with them in reco^nixing that it
was the same' inscrutable impulse which animated them as moves us
to acknowledge the One great Presence from whom all life and being
proceeds !
About "a hundred yards to the east of Simon Seat is a lar-r
cone-shaped depression in the surface of the moor. It is about 100
feet diameter at the top and some fifty feet deep, without water, and
has doubtless been formed through the subsidence of the shales
beneath the superimposed millstone-grit. There are several minor
subsidences in the vicinity, and in no case do they contain water.
* Set' also Airli. .l-'.lianu N.S. XV., 23- 32, on British burials on the Simonside
Hills Northumberland. It is also to he noted that, as \vc learn from the biography ol
the Celtic St. Columba (to who-e mission our modern Yorkshire owe- its Christianity),
the Druids were then active, and that they were regarded as magicians and sorcerers,
and as such ranked with Jamie* and Jambres and Simon Mag-u-. .V<v Rhys' Celtii
firitain, p. 70.
The surface material of these high moors is classed with the Third
Grits of the millstone-grit series, and is equivalent to the Chatsvvorth
grit of Derbyshire. It is a hard massive greyish-looking grit, which
through the denudation of the underlying shales has broken up into
large rectangular masses, forming a bold escarpment along the upper
edge of the hill. Large quantities have been broken up for walling
purposes. About half-a-mile to the east the great rocks of Lord's
Seat (1550 ft.) stand out conspicuously, and from which a long stone
fence runs southward, forming a division between the Forests of
Knaresbro' and Barden. Here the strata is well "salted" with quartz
pebbles and dips at a high angle to the north, while the immense
disjointed masses appear tipped on end like huge stranded vessels
wrecked in a rough sea. And what a rough sea-like moorland this
is to be sure, with nothing but miles of broken peat-moss and wiry
heather vanishing to the sky! It is delightful to be out on these
wide moorlands, breathing the fresh unadulterated air, though
wandering from the paths is forbidden, particularly in the nesting
season. The moors are the haunt of the grouse and curlew, and are
annually visited by the Duke of Devonshire's shooting-party.
The boundary-wall dips across an extensive shallow and now
waterless depression called Dry Tarn, but if it be the same spot as is
mentioned in the above perambulation, as I presume it is, the proper
name is Blea or Blay Tarn, possibly a corruption of the Celt, blaen,
appned to the source of a stream. Just beyond crops up the old
Celtic boundary in Black Crag, already explained. See page 199.
If the descent be made into the Skyreholme valley the main
road to Barden or Appletrewick is reached by following the woodland
path under the fell into the picturesque old lane running by Howgill
and Eastwood Head farm to Dale Head. The prospect from the
lane over the valley towards Trollers Gill and Appletrewick is
charming and from no point of view does the lofty summit of Burnsall
Fell stand out more grandly. By the road side is a venerable mile-
stone very crudely inscribed "To Patley Bridge m 6," a relic of the
days when this was the main route into Nidderdale.
Dale Head is one of the old homes of the Bensons, connections
no doubt of Halton Bensons, from whom Lord Bingley descends, or
of the Pateley Bridge family from which descended the late
Archbishop of Canterbury.
CHAPTER XXX.
APPLETREWICK.
[mportance ot App!etn-\vii-k belorr tin- Norman Conquest hs ancient Callow-
Manorial history Salt- of the manor to Bolton Priory (Irani ot tree \varrcn, its
meaning and Significance History after the Ketoi mation Old house- Krroneous
conclusions — Court rolls of the manor Old customs -Local families— The stocks —
Ancient mansions Tin- noble family of Craven- Supposed birth-place of Sir \Vm.
Craven Low Hall and the Proctors Local ancestry of Archbishop Benson —
Meaning- of Appletrewick.
P to the time of the Viking irruption in the ninth
century the sunny little village of Appletrewick was
probably of more importance than its neighbour
Burnsall, though for a very long period it has been but
a dependent township of that ancient parish. In the
Middle Ages Appletrewick had every year a great four days' fair, a
prescription never extended to Burnsall. Its ancient lords possessed
also the important right to sentence, even to death, criminals taken
within their jurisdiction, claiming as escheats their goods and
inheritances, and hanging them upon their own gallows within the
manor. This fact seems never to have been noticed before, and one
would like to know where these old gallows stood. The privilege
was undoubtedly claimed by right of ancient usage long anterior to
the Norman Conquest.
In the reign of the Confessor Appletrewick, too, had a larger
area of cultivated land than Burnsall. When the great inquest was
made in 1085-6 it was in two ownerships, one moiety being held by
a Dane, Orme, and the other by one Dolphin, son of Thorfin, who
was of Anglo-Saxon descent. (Set HKHDEN.) Orme's manor was
probably at Woodhouse, an ancient village, which has always had a
capital messuage, and his name is preserved in Ormsgill, which
separates that manor from the old Forest of Barden. A daughter of
the above Dolphin married the famous noble Gospatrick, who was
lord of thirty-two manors in 1086, and was descended from the great
Earls of Northumbria. Soon after the Conquest both manors
(Woodhouse and Appletrewick) became consolidated in the great fee
of the Romilles, and about 1150, Adeliza de Romille, the foundn
Bolton Priory, granted half the estate to Robert de Bulmer, also six
bovates to Kdulf de Culnese (Kilnsey) by tenure of Knight service.
The Robert de Bulmer here mentioned, was of the powerful house of
Bulmer, lords of Bulmer, Co. York, an old parish-town six miles
south-west of Malton, which gives name to the wapentake of Bulmer.
At Darlington there is a large block of stone railed the "Bulmer
366
Stone," but nothing is known of its history, nor how it came by its
name. It is supposed to have been a memorial of one of this ancient
race of warriors.* The family subsequently obtained the remaining
moiety of Appletrewick, and continued to hold the same by Knight
service of the superior lords of the fee. Henry de Neville, grandson
of the original grantee, next bestowed part of the estate, under the
name of the manor of Woodhouse, to the Priory of Marlon in
Cleveland, reserving only two oxgangs as a donation to the Nunnery
of Monkton. The estate at Woodhouse continued in possession of
Marlon Priory lill its Dissolution in 1540. The manor of
Applelrewick, however, descended lo the Albemarles and in 1204
ihe Earl of Albemarle obtained the King's leave to afforest Ihe
grealer porlion of Ihe land here. Consequenlly this large area was
converled into a vast hunting-field, no doubt well stocked with wild
boars, wolves, deer, and other beasls of venery. Indeed ihe whole
of Ihe valley from near Bolton Abbey up to Burnsall was at this
time one continuous forest abounding with big game, though not
necessarily woodland, as under the feudal law a "forest" might
include Iracls of arable and paslure ground, commons or wasles; the
forests moreover being exempt from ordinary jurisdiction.
On the failure of the line of Albemarle Ihe manor of Applelrewick,
wilh the rest of the fee, was seized by John de Eslon (Eshlon).'in
virlue of his descent from William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle, who
had married Cicely, daughter of William Filz Duncan, by his wife
Adeliza de Romille, from whom Ihe senior line of Albemarle descended.
Bui under ihe feudal system all land was held of the King, and
however great or powerful were the lords of manors they were but
his vassals and were bound to shew their tille by charier from ihe
sovereign, as lord paramount At this lime Edward I. was in Ihe
Holy Land and did nol return till 1274, and within the next few
years when the king was at liberty to legislate after collecting a vast
amounl of evidence, an agreemenl was come lo by which Ihe honor
of Skiplon was retained by ihe King, reserving Ihe manor of
Applelrewick, among olher possessions, lo Ihe said John de Eshlon.
Happily Ihis was an era of peace and prosperily and Ihe King sel
aboul lhal wise adminislralion of Ihe affairs of Ihe realm which has
earned for him Ihe lille of Ihe English Justinian. In the first thirleen
years of his reign (1272-84) more was done lo sellle and eslablish
ihe dislribulive juslice of Ihe kingdom, declares Sir Matthew Hale,
than in all the ages since that time put logelher. This monarch
established and confirmed Ihe Greal Charier and Charier of Foresls,
and secured Ihe properly of Ihe subjecl by abolishing all arbilrary
taxes, and lallages, levied wilhoul consenl of the national Council.
He instituled a commission of enquiry inlo ihe lilies of lordships
* See Historical .Votes oj the Baronial Hvtmc «/ Rulnu-r, p. 9.
3*7
throughout the kingdom, with all their appurtenant prerogatives,
which there- is no doubt had been greatly abused by the lords
themselves for many years before that time.
With respect to Appletrewick, James de Kston was summoned
to answer the lord kin- by a writ de </uo 7carni/ii<>, which I do not
lind anywhere quoted, though it is of no little importance in the
constitutional descent of the manor. He was called upon to shew
by what warrant he claimed to have " a free mine of lead and iron,
of beer, toll, stallage, and gallows in Appletrewick, which
belong to the Crown." The said James went into court and said
that John de Kston gave him the manor with four bovates and a
culture called Kalegarth, with the mines and all other liberties
thereto belonging, as he had received the same from the lord king.
But in the course of his examination it was shewn that the said gift
had not been ratified by the king, a matter that must be attended to.
This James de Eston sold the manor to the Prior and Convent
of Bolton, and the compotus of the Abbey shews that in A.D. 1300
the Prior journeyed to Rome in order to obtain the necessary powers
to purchase. The same year they paid the said James tie Eshton
^14 is. 4d. in part payment for the manor of Appletrewick, and for
charters of the lord king for the transfer was paid 32*. 4d. In
1310 the monks were fortunate in obtaining great privileges within
their manor of Appletrewick, as appears by the following hitherto
unpublished charter.
(IRANI 01 I KM \\AKKKN AM) A IAIK IN A i'l'I.l- I Kl \\ H 'K lo I 1 1 H I'KIOK AND
I'MNVKM 01 Hoi. ION IN CKAVI \.
The Kin^ to hi-- Archbishop-. Xc. greeting1 know ye that We at the instance of our
beloved and trusty Peter de Gauaston Karl <>l Cornwall have granted and by this our
charter have Confirmed to Our beloved in Christ the Prior and Convent of Koulton 111
Craven that they and their successors tor ever may ha\ e tree warren in all their demesne
lands of their manor of Appletrewick in the Co. of York. While however such lands be
not within the metes of our forest So that no one shall enter such lands to hunt in these
to hunt in them or to take anything which to the Warren belongs without the licence
and will of the aforesaid Prior and Convent or their -ucc< --.MM -- upon lorleiture to u- of
ten pound-. And that they may have a lair every year at their Manor aforesaid lasting
for four days to wit for two days before the feast ot St. I. uke and on the day and
morrow of the same feast unless such fair be to the hurt of neighbouring fairs wherefore
We will and firmly command for us and our heir- that the aforesaid Prior and Convent
and their successor-, tor ever may have tree warren in all their dcme-ne lands aforesaid
while however &c. So that &c. And that they may have the aforesaid fair at their manor
aforesaid with all liberties and free customs to such fair appertaining unless \c. a- i-
aforesaid. These being- witnesses the venerable father W. bishop of Worcester our
Chancellor Gilbert de Clare Karl of Gloucester and Hertford John de Warren Karl of
Surrey Henry de Percv Robert de Clifford Ralph son of William Robert -on of
Pagan Steward of our household and other-. Given at New Monastery the ninth day ot
Sept. by wit of privy seal.
The feudal monarchs had jealously protected the wild game of
the country, and upon the introduction of the forest laws at the
Norman Conquest no man was allowed to destroy any animal without
368
royal leave, under the severest penalties. He dare not even kill a
wolf that was attacking his own child. In Saxon times, though no
one was permitted to kill or chase the King's deer, yet he had the
liberty to start any game, pursue and kill it, upon his own estate.
For ten years the canons of Bolton however, dare not take as much
as a rabbit from their own estate at Appletrewick, but when they got
the King's license of free warren, no doubt they employed a keeper,
and as the charter ordains, the fine for poaching was extremely
severe. There was a statute in force at this time by which a poacher
was compelled to stand when called upon, on pain of being shot. The
beasts of warren included no large game , only such as woodcocks,
herons, partridges, pheasants, hares and conies. A coney is said to
be a rabbit of more than one year. Rabbits, though believed to
have been introduced by the Romans, were by no means common in
England for some time after the Norman Conquest. The accounts
of Exeter College, Oxford, for A.D. 1361, shew that they then fetched
in that part of the country 4d. or 5d. each, equal to 55. or 6s. of
present money. But this was a time of national scarcity and large
numbers had been captured and eaten to stave off famine. A century
later they had greatly increased, and at the banquet given at the
installation of Archbishop Neville, at York, in 1465, 4000 rabbits are
recorded as having been consumed.
Shortly after the suppression of Bolton Priory the manor of
Appletrewick was granted in fee to Sir Christopher Hales, Kt. Master
of the Rolls, and in 1545 was in possession of Thomas Proctor of
Cowper Cotes, who sold it in that year to Sir Arthur Darcy, Kt.,
facts not noticed by Whitaker. The title brought with it the right
to continue the fair, though on what days it continued to be held I
have not ascertained. In Wm. Storr's " Booke of Remarks " (A.D.
1700) the sheep fair is stated to be held on Oct. i4th and for beasts
the day following. In 1830 it was held on Oct. 25th (eleven days
having been omitted from the calendar in 1752) for horses and
horned cattle. The importance of the fair dwindled with the spread
of railways and ceased altogether about forty years ago. Old folks
however remember the sight, and the scene of life and bustle the
road presented on the annual fair-day. Immense quantities of onions
were brought into the "town," and sold wholesale and retail. Indeed
this came to be the staple article of sale, and for many years the
event was generally spoken of as " Ap'trick Onion Fair."
Going down the street on the right hand there is a small
picturesque Stuart building, standing north and south, with a flight
of stone steps leading up to the doorway, which is often ridiculously
spoken of as the Chapel of the monks of Bolton, though obviously
erected more than a century after the dissolution of the monastery.
But this is only one among many other instances of false dates put
upon buildings in the dale. The cottage adjoining has a partly
369
vvalled-up doorway (now a window) with the date 1697 over it, and
in one of the inner rooms is a fire-place inscribed R.T. 1696, with a
disfigured device between the initials and date.
In 1549 the manor, with appurtenances, was sold by Sir
Arthur Darcy, Kt., for ^2,000 to Sir John Vorke, Kt., Lord Mayor
of London (who died in 1568) the head of a family now represented
by Thomas Edward Yorke, Esq., of Bewerley Hall, in the adjoining
valley of tin- Nidd. The conveyance carried with it the privilege,
supported by immemorial usage, of digging for minerals and holding
courts. The extant court-rolls of the manor commence in 1620, but
contain little of interest beyond the names of tenants and jurors who
assembled at the annual holdings of the court in October. The
annual perambulations of the boundary of the manor were evidently
a much-looked for event, bringing out most of the male population
of the neighbourhood who were able to mount the hills and traverse
the rough country that lay on the line of march. According to the
.old churchwardens' accounts, which have been carefully edited and
printed by the rector of Burnsall, the Rev. YV. J. Stavert, M.A., it
appears that two days were usually absorbed in these perambulations,
the first day in traversing the bounds of Burnsall while the second
was devoted to Appletrewick. One hundred and fifty years ago
more than 2os. was generally spent by the parish officials in cheese
and cakes and ale on each day of the gatherings. And lively and
merry days they must have been, parson and churchwardens and
school children all joined in celebrating the event. In 1709 however,
the stipulated expenditure on these occasions was to be no more
than 14*.
It seems that in 1724 there were ninety inhabited houses in
Burnsall-with-Thorp, Appletrewick, and Hartlington, and allowing
five persons for each house, the population would then be about 450.
In 1835 the township of Appletrewick alone had just that number,
while Burnsall had 250, and Hartlington 120. Since then there has
been a great decline, due to remoteness from railway traffic , the
population of the whole parish being registered in 1891 as 429.
Formerly there was a good business done in cotton-spinning and
manufacturing, and in the fourteenth century there was a good deal
of weaving, dyeing, and fulling done in the village, but in recent
times the life of the place has been purely pastoral and agricultural,
the sweet air and quiet thrifty habits of the inhabitants of this pleasant
part of Wharfedale being greatly conducive to health and longevity.
I should, however, state that a smithy has existed here almost
from the era of the Norman conquest, and payments to the blacksmith
of Appletrewick occur in the accounts of Bolton Abbey as far back as
the reign of the first Edward. In 1378 John Young, jun., was the
village blacksmith, and this family in recent times lived at the High
Hall. Seventy years ago Wm. Gill and Thomas Hargrave were the
37°
local smiths . Gill had a bit of land besides, and his son, John Gill,
farmed the glebe lands under the rectors of Burnsall for many years
and was also chief sheep-keeper on the extensive fells of Burnsall and
Thorpe. He afterwards took Ryshworth Hall farm, Bingley, where
he died in 1892. The blacksmith's father, Robert Gill, was the
principal initiator of local Wesleyanism in the latter part of the
eighteenth century, and the first Wesleyan missionaries preached
from the old horseing-steps which stood beside his house at Burnsall.
The Burnsall parish accounts also shew that the Inmans, a very
old family here, were smiths and wheelwrights in the parish 170 years
ago. Some of the family for a long time lived in the old house at
Gateup, one of whom, Thomas Inman, died there in 1603, and left a
will proved in the Exchequer Court of York, 2oth July, 1603. John
Moorhouse, of Skipton, a member of the same family mentioned on
page 338, married in January, 1612-13, Mary Inman, and afterwards
resided at Wood End, Barden. His son, Brian Moorhouse, was
baptised at Burnsall, November i2th, 1613, and was probably the
same Brian Moorhouse who purchased Gill Bottom, Norwood, in the
parish of Fewston, from the Fairfaxes about 1650, which his
descendants of the name continued to occupy for 230 years.
There are two comfortable long-established hostelries at
Appletrewick, the New Inn and Craven Arms, and near the latter
stands the old village stocks, — how old, who shall say? They tell,
however, of some importance in bygone times, for an Act was
passed in 1405 ordering " every town and village in the King's
realm " to provide a pair of stocks, only such places to be exempted
as came within the definition of a hamlet. Care has been taken
here of this old-time relic and in 1894 it was restored and the whole
set in concrete. The importance of Appletrewick in former ages
is still evidenced by the presence of two or three substantial old
mansions, doubtless built on the sites of still older ones. But no
little interest attaches to a small, low building which up to three
years ago stood in the main street on the site of the present neat
chapel-of-ease to Burnsall. Here in this humble cottage, of which
I am privileged to give a view by the courtesy of the rector of
Burnsall, it is traditionally held that the famous Sir William Craven
was born about 1548. He rose to wealth and eminence in the city
of London, was Sheriff in 1600-1, became Lord Mayor in 1610-11
and was ancestor of the Earls of Craven. He built Burnsall
Grammar School in 1602. The site and cottages have for an
indefinite period belonged to the family. The exterior aspects of
the cottages are distinctly later than the time of Henry VIII., but
it is evident they have undergone alteration. It is also noteworthy
they have upper chambers, a circumstance of rare occurrence in the
humbler country dwellings of Henry VIII. 's time. Some doubt
must always exist as to the real home of his birth, which is
just as likely to have been at the old Hall on the opposite side »>t
the road.
The stories of the -Teat man's early poverty and of his entering
London shoeless and penniless are no doubt exaggerated. Of
course money was not plentiful among tenant farmers so soon after
the dissolution of monasteries, but there is evidence at any rate to
shew that the C ravens of Appletrewick even at that time w<
well-off as any tenant family in Upper \Vharfedale. The subsidy-
rolls for 1523 state that Henry Craven was taxed on goods, 2os.,
while twentx vears later there were three families of the name in
REPUTED BIRTHPLACE OF SIR WM. CRAVEN, APPLETREWICK.
Appletrewick all contributing substantially to the imperial taxes on
the value of their moveable effects, such as cattle. They were in
fact the principal taxpayers. But apart from their comfortable
circumstances the fact will always create the liveliest interest that
from the obscurity of this remote Wharfedale village sprang one who
attained honors and wealth quite unrivalled in his day and generation.
From a very valuable and exhaustive paper on the lineage of the
family by the present rector of Burnsall,* I gather there were two
families of Craven living at Appletrewick in the early part of the
r«>;-X-v. . In html, /'iiinidl, XIII. pp. 440-4X0,. and XIV. p. -'44-5.
372
iyth century. The head of one house was Thomas Craven, who
was born in 1611, and in 1649 is described as of Elm Tree
in Appletrewick. He had a son Anthony, described in 1660, as
"gentleman" of Appletrewick, and in the year following was granted
a baronetcy as Anthony Craven of Sparsholt, Co. Berks, and he was
also knighted the same year. The above Thomas Craven in 1672
paid hearth-money for his house at Appletrewick, a fact by itself
sufficient to establish a certain status, as the levy was imposed only
on those houses paying to church and poor. There is a probability
that he was then living at the old hall now standing at the top of
the village, and I will quote what Mr. Stavert says on the subject.
The old house at Appletrewick was probably built in 1667, and there is what may
once have been part of an old porch or gateway, inscribed with that date and the
letters T.C. In the wall of a barn close by there is a stone upon which has been cut
W.C. 1665. Tradition says that it is built upon the site of an older house called Elm
Tree, and there is still standing- outside the gate a large specimen of this kind of tree,
which may be of any age, to attest the fact. If the Thomas Craven, whose will has
just been noticed, was the owner and builder of the house, it would seem that somehow
he had succeeded to the property once in the possession of the other family, as will
appear from the lists of names which have already been given. There is a coat-of-
arms over the fireplace in one of the rooms which is the same as that now borne by the
Craven family, but without motto, coronet, or supporters. The cottage in which the
Alderman is said to have been born, stands just opposite the Hall, on the other side ot
the road, but is rapidly falling into decay [1895].
Most likely there has been a hall on the site from the Norman
settlement, if not before, though it is not mentioned until about the
year 1280 when the estate was confirmed to John de Eston. It was
then described as a "capital messuage," and erected during an era
of great building activity, had probably some of the characteristics
still existing about Grassington Old Hall. The present mansion, now
a farm-house, is a sturdy specimen of a yeoman's residence of the
middle of the iyth century. It possesses, however, features only to
be found in superior homesteads of this time, including a large hall
with minstrels' gallery, like the stately mansion of the Murgatroyds at
East Riddlesden in the parish of Bingley, erected about the same
time. The oak screen in the dining-hall is of excellent workmanship,
and the design has been copied in the uppermost portion of the new
screen in Burnsall Church, and cleverly executed with other work in
the church by a parishioner, Mr. Richard Clark. The Hall is now
the property of the Earl of Craven.
Low Hall is another good house, which for several years has
been tenanted by Mr. Chas. Rickards, of Bell Busk. It appears to
have been built by a Thomas Preston during the Interregnum, and
afterwards passed to the Cavendish family, who sold it to the
Proctors of Kirkby Malham about forty years ago. Above the
principal entrance it is recorded that the house was restored in 1868
and there appear the initials w A. p. and K p. [Win. and Robert Proctor.]
The old oak door has a rather handsome hinge, and the entrance
373
hall is oak-panelled to ;t height of thirty fert and possesses .1 iiiu-
broad oak stairr.tM-. On an outbuilding I noticed the initials and
date I. P. 1690. Another old house at the top of the village is
inscribed T.N. 1688. After the Civil Wars money began to accumulate
and much building was the consequence. Largely through the
exertions of the present rector of Burnsall, ably supporu-d by
parishioners and friends, the little chapel at Appletrewick was erected
in 1897-8. It is a small but neat stone edifice dedicated to St. John
the Baptist, the patron of the Merchant Taylors' Company, in which
Sir Wm. Craven was conspicuously interested. The chapel was
opened on May 3rd, 1898, by the Bishop of Ripon, in the presence
of Evelyn, Countess of Craven, Miss Farquharson, of Invercauld, and
many of the local clergy and gentry. The Bishop delivered an
eloquent address on the "Cleansing of the Temple," and the event
will long be remembered.
It is impossible for me to mention the many native families and
individuals who have won a respectable position in the conduct of
local and even national affairs during the centuries that have gone by.
The good old Grammar School at Burnsall, is responsible for much
of the training that effected the after-distinction of many a native son
and daughter of the soil. In the old parish accounts I find the death
recorded of the Rev. Peter Alcock, rector, in 1773, and in this year
there was married a certain Bridget Clark, of Appletrewick, to
Christopher Benson, landlord of the old Crown Inn at Pateley Bridge,
a noted posting-house, where he died in 1765, and shortly afterwards
the property realised some ^"SOQO. Christopher Benson also
established a large business with York as a factor and amassed
considerable wealth. Their son Edward Benson lived in Kirkgate
House close to Ripon Minster, and was father of Captain White
Benson, who served in the Irish rebellion of 1798, and he was
grandfather of the Rt. Hon. and Most Rev. Edward White Benson,
D.D., the late popular Archbishop of Canterbury. Thus by descent
from the marriage of this rustic maid of Appletrewick sprang the
distinguished Primate of All England. Other important matrimonial
alliances might also be adduced, and one such "royal descent" from
a local yeoman's daughter I will mention in the notice of Percival
Hall, or as it is locally called Parcivall Hall.
I may just add, in conclusion, that the name Benson is said to
be of Scandinavian origin and was originally Bjornson, "son of the
bear," and has lately come to the front in Martinus Bjornsen, the
Norse poet. Singularly the name Burnsall appears to have the same
meaning, namely the hall or seat of Bjorn, the original Norse settler,
as explained elsewhere. Appletrewick, I should further add, is most
likely from the Teutonic apcl (apple) tieo (tree) and wick (village),
though some may assert that in the prefix "Apple"' lurks a corruption
of the original owner's name, as it was the custom to plant trees in
374
certain localities identified by the names of their owners, as Allerstree
(Adelard's tree) Oswestry (Oswald's tree) and perhaps also Daventry
and Coventry. According to Vigfusson the Norse epli equivalent to
the Celtic afal, became apal in compound names, as in the Domesday
interpretation of Appleby, the seat or town of some famous or large
apple-tree. It is contended, however, by Dr. M. W. Taylor* that
Appleby is Hicllpeby, or the town of Hialp, a personal name that is
found in the Sagas, and is not unlikely to have been the name of the
original Norse settler at Appleby. Locally the name is pronounced
Veppleby, and the prefix is doubtless the same which occurs in such
places as Whelp Castle, Whelphow, and Whelpstones Crag. In
Domesday our VVharfedale village is spelled Apletreuuic, and I have
preferred to write the modern name with a single "e" as
approximating more nearly to the Saxon original. Locally it is always
"Ap'trick." The apple is a true native of England, while such as
raspberries, strawberries, and cherries were not grown in England till
Henry VIII's time. The tree at Appletrewick was in all probability
in a place appointed for the meetings of the village council, whence
the Anglo-Saxon treo-w, a pledge, treaty or convention. But it is quite
possible to have been originally a gallows-tree, as explained by Sir
James Ramsay.
Tin' <>ld Manorial Halls of Westmorland and ( 'tunbi-rlaiid, p. 124.
CHAPTKK XXXI
UP THE D.A1.K TO BURNSALT,.
A lovely drive through the Forest of Barden — Old Forest lodges- -Club Nook -Rustic-
simplicity Drebley Prospect from Burnsall Fell Side \Yoodhcuise and the
Blands Ancestral connections with Lord Nelson Old hou-.cs and families
Hartlington Local properties of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem The
.Metcalfe family Manorial records -Feudal obligations — Some errors corrected
Hartlington Hall, the residence of Lt.-Col. I )awsoii The old manor-house and
chapel An old inn Ancient family of Dibb Skyreholme -Percival Hall and the
Lowsons A notable marriage — The Inman family — The gorge of Trailers Gill
Descent of Hell Hole — Geological aspects.
of the most charming eight mile drives in England
is that from Bolton Abbey to Burnsall. A public
conveyance meets the morning train at Bolton Abbey
station, and taking the pleasant road close to the ruins
of the old Priory, passes the historic Barden Tower
(sec page 350) and thence "up dale" amid flowery meads and
shepherded fells to "Bonnie Burnsall." The capable pedestrian
should, however, proceeed through the famous Woods by the Strid
to Barden Bridge, whence a foot-path conducts through fields over
Gill Beck, which comes down from Thorpe Fell, with Sim Bottom (so
called after an old local family) on its eastern verge, by Club Nook
on to the highroad near Hole House and Drebley. By this route he
passes through the heart of the ancient Forest of Barden, so
celebrated in former days for its packs of wolves and wild boars.
Some of the old Forest Lodges still exist, though the houses
have been rebuilt. Quaint old thatches they were in bygone days,
pretty much like that which stood at Club Nook a few years back, a
••single-decker" nearly eighty feet long, with its rooms ranged on
each side of the main entrance and roof open to the thatch. Now
the houses have "chambers" and the farm-folk having their annual
inrush of " visitors", must perforce put aside every appearance of
"antiquity" and be up-to-date in all the appurtenances of comfort
and convenience. The farmer does not, like his grandsire, follow the
old ways and methods. He does not weigh the wool in a cross-beam
over the field-gate with two or three-stone boulders, nor his dame
sell her butter by the guage of a pair of tongs, a cobble-stone or a
flat-iron. In those blissful days when wisdom alone made man
miserable and to be ignorant was to be happy, how we wish to task-
their pleasures once again when we read such a tale of rural
innocence as the following! A traveller in the upper dale, I am told
once called at a farm-house desiring to purchase a pound of sweet,
376
home-made butter. The pound weight, however, could not be found.
Suddenly the old dame bethought herself of a capital substitute,
exclaiming as she went to the side of the house "Here, noo, we'll
manage it. Here's a pair o' tangs my guidman brought hame
yestreen and they weigh just two pun'. Stand by and I'll soon
weigh your butter." A piece of the fresh-churned commodity was
put into one scale and a single leg of the tongs in the other, while
the second leg was allowed to hang out. More butter was added
and more again until a just balance was obtained. "There" said
the good woman smiling broadly, as the scale went down containing
the wholesome ingredient, "I've given ye a good pun'," and the man
soon marched off apparently, I presume, very well pleased with his
"pound" of fresh farm-butter. If the farmers did not usually wax
rich, as it is hardly to be expected they would by such methods of
barter and sale, they at anyrate had plenty of plain, wholesome food,
and were comfortable and contented. The spread of commerce and
the "luxury" of living in large towns has made the farmer think
himself very badly off. But what he loses in gaiety and excitement
he certainly gains in health and contentment, and in that calm
masculinity of mind and body which has always been a source of
strength to the State in all its functions.
Passing Hole House, the home of the Emmott family (who
have some fine local specimens of furniture carved in old Forest oak),
we pursue the turnpike with the high-up little hamlet of Drebley a
little to our right. Here there have been houses and cultivated lands
for probably a thousand years, as Domesday Book testifies. It is a
small out-of-the-world place now, but it has a fame and history perhaps
going back beyond the days when the Saxon Dringhel was its lord
and king. Perhaps it was the scene of some long-forgotten contest
for supremacy between Celt and Saxon, or Saxon and Dane, as its
name, spelled in 1086 Drebelaie, seems to imply. Thus it may mean
the ley or field of slaughter, from the A.-S. drcepe/i, to strike, to slay,
p. drcep, the A.-S. labial 'b' frequently interchanging with 'p.'
Peaceful enough the secluded little spot looks now, with its few
homesteads garnered on the hill-side lapped in sunshine, and enjoying
a prospect wide-reaching over classic vale and purple moorland.
How delightful is the tramp in Spring-time along this upland road
under the grand sweep of Burnsall Fell ! The sweet fragrance of the
pines, which thickly clothe the massive breast of the fell like an
Alpine forest, acts like a tonic to enervated frames, giving elasticity
to the step, as the pure breezes play about you from unmeasured
miles of the fair spreading landscape. How noble from this standpoint
looks the i~>cky ruins of old Simon Seat, far away on the sky-line
seeming black as jet against the flawless blue! Sometimes, too, while
you pace the rugged fell-side, a perfect rainbow completely arches
the fair valley with multi-colored radiance, while dancing sunlight
377
gilds the silent waters of old Wharfe to-day, as it has done in ages
long gone by. And who that shall come after us shall say that this is
not the best of God's giving for body and heart of man? Deep in
the verdant valley speeds the sunlit river by crag and scar, and in
the words of Mr. Bland, the local poet, —
By village grev
And green trimmed \vuy,
Hi-spangled o'er with man}- a (lower,
\Vhere quaint and grand,
Doth proudly stand,
Bridge, school and church with battled tower,
alluding as he does to picturesque, historic Burnsall. Unfortunately
there is but too little of this fine moorland road, which is the nearest
approach to Burnsall from Barden, and passes the ancient homestead
at Wood End (see page 370) and the new and splendidly-situated
/'(•// Jfouse hotel just before the descent is commenced to the village.
But the usual driving-route from Barden is through Appletrewick
and Hartlington to Burnsall. It is a pleasant route under the "Kale,"
with the meadows in May and June gleaming with the silver and
gold of daisy and buttercup, the hedges bright and fragrant with
thorn-bloom, primroses, stitch wort, vetches, and a score other wildings.
A little from the road stands Woodhouse, formerly a village and
manor belonging to Marton Priory (see page 323) and for centuries
the home of the Blands. Nothing has ever been said of Lord
Nelson's connections with this place, though I have little doubt that
through the family of Bland, the old manor house here will be proved
to be one of the ancestral homes of England's greatest seaman.
The Cambridge Blands from whom the famous Admiral descends on
the mother's side came from Burnsall parish. George Bland of
Burnsall had several sons, the eldest of whom was Ambrose, who
was a sizar at Pembroke College, and some time vicar of Waresley,
Hunts. In his will, proved in 1712, he mentions Burnsall and his
brother Humphrey Bland, who was one of the feoffees of Burnsall
Grammar School. The Rev. Edmund Nelson. M.A. vicar of Sporle,
Norfolk, who was born in 1693, married Mary, daughter of John
Bland, of Cambridge, gent., and she died in 1789, aged 91. Their
son, the Rev. Edward Nelson, M.A. rector of Hilborough and of
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, was father of Horatio, Viscount Nelson,
the distinguished Admiral, who as all the world knows, fell at the
battle of Trafalgar in 1805.* There appear to have been Blands at
Woodhouse before the Reformation as tenants of Marton Priory, and
.SVv "Collections tor a History of the Ancient Family of Bland, by Nicholas
Carlisle, Coats of Arms, Pedigrees, &c.," 1826. Catalogued by Henry Gray for
£10 IDS. This work, however, throws no light on the Burnsall family, but brings in
the Blands of Westmorland, Lancashire, Cambridge, Notts, Norfolk, Queen's County
and Virginia, America, &c.
I find a family of Bland paying subsidy in the parish of Bentham,
25th Edward I (1297). Robert Bland, who died in 1819, purchased
the old house and barn with several tenements iVc., then called High
Woodhouse, from one Chris. Malthouse, of Minskip, Co. York, and
re-sold them some years after to the owner of Low Woodhouse, a
Mr. Michael Gill, of Lead Hall, near Tadcaster. This Robert Bland
married Mary Young of the High Hall, Appletrewick (see page 369)
and had three sons and four daughters. The eldest son, Robert,
married Mary Atkinson, of Castley (see page 125) and left a family
of twelve children, of whom the hale and affable Mr. John Atkinson
Bland, now in his yyth year, of the " Manor House," Burnsall, is the
sole survivor. The second son of the elder Robert Bland was
Stephen, who died in 1862, aged 78. He was for nearly 40 years
curate of Burnsall, and was 49 years head master of the Grammar
School, and for more than half a century vicar of Kirkby Malham.
He died at Burnsall, and is buried in the churchyard there.
The old house now standing is another interesting example of
those sturdy residences of the seventeenth century yeomanry for
which the West Riding of Yorkshire is particularly famous. The
other old house was pulled down early in the nineteenth century, but
the lintel of the doorway has been placed over the entrance to a
farm-building, and has carved upon it "A.S. 1637," the initials being
those of one, Anthony Spurritt, whose burial is recorded in the
Burnsall register for December i2th, 1661, aged seventy-nine. The
greater part of the old house provided material for the erection of
Burnsall Wesleyan Chapel in 1840. A large old barn, originally a
dwelling-house, has some plaster-work inside bearing the initials and
date I.W. 1635. This was the dwelling of the man Walters
(? Waters) of whom Dr. Whitaker relates a tradition of his having
saved the life of a young lady from a band of ruffians, and received
the property in reward for his gallantry. A descendant of the man,
one William Waters, who died in the West Indies, bequeathed, I am
told, the rent of the property to trustees for the benefit of mission-work
among the negroes. Woodhouse has also some associations with
the great Civil War, for Richard Barrowe, of Woodhouse, though he
never took up arms, was like Lord Craven, a liberal contributor of
money in support of the forces of the King. He was a pretty large
landowner and had to compound with the Commonwealth for his
estates.
Another house of ancient foundation, which has been converted
into a barn, bears on its door lintel the following playful inscription:
"1512, Cabin Thatched + House Slated, 1755 + Next for Cattle
(1881) was Translated." By what means the date of the "thatched
cabin" has been obtained I have not ascertained, but it seems that
the Mr. Gill, above alluded to, had the old cottage raised a story,
with two plain bedroom windows inserted, leaving the original
379
mullions of the lower room untouched. He also put on a slate roof.
In the alterations made in rSSi, a small cone-sheped brick oven was
removed together with a wide-arched fire-place, the stones of which,
all clean dressed, were afterwards used for flooring the shippen. It
is however, very doubtful if there was to be seen a single chimney,
outside Bolton Abbey and some few of the manor-houses, in
Wharfedale before the days of Queen Elizabeth. Certainly not in
cottages, nor were the mullions glazed. Old Holinshed writes
complainingly, about 1576, of the innovations of glazed windows and
chimney-places in the country-houses in his time. Formerly, he
says, there was "used much lattis, and that made of wicker, or of
line riftes of oak in checkerwise," a design followed in the diamond-
pane glazing of later times. Then he cries down the good old
ingle-neuk in this way. "Now have we many chimneys and yet our
tenderlings complain of rheums, catarrhs, and poses; then we had
nothing but reredosses and yet our heads did never ache, for as the
smoke in those days was considered a sufficient hardening for the
timber of the house, so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep
the good man and his family from the quack."
A little beyond Woodhouse the road runs through Hartlington,
a tiny place now, but whose existence as an independent manor of
no small importance may be traced far back into the dark ages of
history. It is not improbable that the old Crusaders had an estate
here long before the grants to the monasteries, as I find when the
Order of Knights of St. John of Jerusalem was revived by Queen
Mary in 1557, the Prior of the Order was commissioned to receive a
rent of 6d. and service issuing of a tenement "within Burnesall," then
or late in possession of Roger Metcalfe, esquire. This Roger Metcalfe
was of the Bear Park, Wensleydale family, and died before 1542.
Whitaker makes no mention of him, but in 1502 he and his wife
Elizabeth, who survived him, sold lands in Hartlington to James,
afterwards Sir James Metcalfe, of Xappa, and in respect of these a
fine was levied between the parties in Easter Term, i~th Henry VII.
In 1506, as appears from the Recovery Roll, 22iul Henry VII., Roger
and Elizabeth Metcalfe sold to the same James Metcalfe 200 acres
of land in Hartlington together with half the manor. In 1515 the
same Roger and Elizabeth Metcalfe made a third and final sale to
James Metcalfe of lands in Hartlington, and a recovery entered on
the De Banco Roll for Hilary Term 7 Henry VIII, shews that James
Metcalfe (and other his feoffees) claimed against Roger Metcalfe the
manor of Hawkswick and 41 messuages, 2 mills, 2100 acres of land,
2010 acres of meadow, 2010 acres of pasture, 220 acres of wood, and
3000 acres of moor in Hawkswick, Hartlington, Arncliffe, Hanlith,
Kirkby in Malhamdale, Skipton, Broughton in Craven, Leathley,
Appletrewick, Burnsall, Thorpe, Angram House, Calgarth House and
Gargrave, and half of a third part of the manor of Hartlington.
The whole manor was shortly afterwards in possession of Sir James
Metcalfe, who died in 1525.
The great family here in early times was the De Hertlingtons,
who were most likely descended from one of the pre-Norman owners,
one of whom named Norman, continued to hold the manor after the
Conquest. There were in 1066 two manors, one of three carucates or
nearly 400 acres of land in annual cultivation and the other of one
geld-carucate, held by Almunt and afterwards by Dolfin, the same
who held Appletrewick. In 1279-80 an inquisition was held at York
touching the possessions of William de Hertlington, then lately
deceased, when the jurors found that he had died seized of one
carucate and six bovates of land in Hartlington and Appletrewick, of
the tenure of Skipton (now in the King's hands) for i6d. to be paid
yearly to the King. He owed homage and suit of court at Skipton
from three weeks to three weeks, and the whole land was worth by
the year yos. He also held in Hartlington three carucates of Sir
Robert de Neville (Norman's pre-Conquest estate) worth annually £6,
for i2S. yearly rent, and in Hanlith three carucates and in Rilston
one carucate, together worth annually ^9. The letting value of the
land here then seems to have been about 4d. an acre, which the lord
held by military tenure, rendering a small rent and service (the most
honorable of all obligations) to his King and country. His Rilston
estate was held of Sir Roger Tempest, to whom it may be noted were
due ward and relief. That is to say under the feudal policy the
superior lord claimed the profits of the estate should the heir be
under age at the death of his ancestor. The wardship consisted in
having the custody of the body and lands of such heir, the law
assuming the heir-male unable to perform knight-service till 21, but
the female was supposed capable at the age of 14 to marry, and then
her husband might perform knight-service. But the lord had no
wardship if at the death of the ancestor the heir-male was of the full
age of 21, or the heir female of 14, yet if she was under 14, and the
lord once had her in ward, he might keep her so till 16, by virtue of
the Statute of Westminster, A.D 1274, the two additional years being
given by the legislature for no other reason than to benefit the lord.*
By the marriage of Elizabeth, co-heiress of William de
Hertlington, with Thomas Metcalfe of Nappa Hall, Wensleydale,
who was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and died in 1504, the
Hartlington estate descended as above related to the Metcalfes. It
may be well to correct some few inaccuracies and omissions in the
able and elaborate pedigree of this family in Whitaker's Craven (3rd
ed. page 514). The eldest son of the above Thomas Metcalfe was
Ottiwell, who died in 1500, leaving a son James, who lived at
Swinethwaite in Wensleydale, and whose will as stated, was dated
* See Blackstone's Commentaries (1783) II. 67.
1557- But there is no proof that Ottiwell had any other children
than this James, who left/rw/- sons (i) Ottiwell. of Swinethwaite, who
died in 1572, (2) George of Hood Grange, who died in 1571, (3)
Oswald, married Margaret Lascelles, living 1571, (4) Christopher, of
Tvlehou.se Grange, Old Byland, who was living in 1584. Ottiwell, the
eldest son of James had a family of four children, namely George,
who died in 1610. Dorothy, Cuthbert, and James, who were living in
1580. as is proved by the privately-printed Mctcalfe Records, -A. scarce
and valuable work on this notable old Yorkshire family.
The manor subsequently became divided, one moiety descending
to the Hebers of Marton, now owned by the Wilsons of Eshton, and
the other moiety passed to the Daw-sons, now represented by Lieut.
Col. R. H. Dawson, of the Royal Artillery, who is lineally descended
from Sir William Craven, of Lenchwick, and his wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax. Sir William was grandson of
Henry Craven, brother to the famous Alderman of Appletrewick,
who "filled the spacious times of great Elizabeth, with strains that
echo still." Col. Dawson a few years ago erected at Hartlington a
large and handsome mansion in the Elizabethan style of architecture,
which occupies an elevated site commanding a wide and beautiful
prospect. A few years ago an ancient kiln for parching corn (the
atha of the Gaelic Celts) was discovered near the entrance to the
mansion, an account of which will be found in the January part of
the Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist for 1898.
The old manor house mentioned in the Poll Tax of 1378, has
long ago disappeared, and its site only can be recognized in a field
called Hall Garth behind the present Bridge House, where are traces
of an ancient piscary or fish-pond. Close by the ground rises and is
known as Chapel Hill, where in all probability was a private oratory
or chapel like that still standing at Downholme, near Richmond.*
The Hertlingtons had their own chaplain down to the dissolution of
their house, in the i5th century. Sir Richard Clerke, was chaplain
to Henry Hertlington Esq., as appears by his will dated Sept. 1466,
and though masses were ordered to be offered for the good of his
soul within the public church at Burnsall, there is little doubt a
chapel was attached to the old manor-hall.
The Bridge House was rebuilt in 1882 by the late Mr. Richard
Proctor, of Hetton. The previous old tenement was at one time an inn
known as Spout Vat, standing as it did close to where the brawling
Dibb empties itself over a limestone bed, into Wharfe, and where a
gate was hung to prevent sheep straying from the unenclosed moor.
The smithy at Hartlington is mentioned as far back as the days of
Chevy Chase. Many an interesting story of the past life of this little
Wharfedale hamlet might have been told had space permitted. The
* See the author's Romantic Rii-hiwindsliin; pp. JiH, ^47, &c.
38z
surrounding country is now all enclosed, Acts for that purpose having
been obtained in 1804 for Burnsall and ten years later for
Appletrewick. Higher up the Dibb Beck or River Dibb, as it is
called, were some very old houses, and one of these was no doubt
the abode of a family who took their name from the situation beside
this pleasant moorland stream. The Dibbs in bygone ages worked
the lead mines on Appletrewick Moor, and in the Bolton Abbey
Compotus for 1304 I find the sum of 3os. paid by the Prior and
Convent to Thomas of Dibb, for a load of lead. These old mines
were a source of much disputation between the several owners of the
surrounding lands, and in the reign of Henry VII. I find an action
entered in the Duchy Court against the Prior of Bolton concerning
the lead mines within the Forest of Knaresbro', also another
concerning the metes and bounds of the free chase of Nidderdale
belonging to the Abbot of Fountains, and the lordship of
Appletrewick belonging to the Prior of Bolton &c. Seventy years
ago there used to be a worsted mill at Hartlington run by Mr.
Jeremiah Ambler of Baildon. Above the present saw-mill beside
the beck we get out on to Hartlington Rakes, which are old sheep-
walks, so called from the Norse rekan, to drive, as sheep.
Now let us retrace our steps to Appletrewick and take the
pleasant road by Skyreholme to the romantic Trailers Gill, one of
the outlying places of this picturesque region associated with the old
Celtic traditions of trolls or fairies, which I have elsewhere explained.
Skyreholme lies on a boundary of such antiquity that it may
evoke comparison with the scriptural injunction — " Disturb not thy
neighbours' landmark." There is little doubt the name is as old as
the Anglo-Saxon occupation and means the holme, or low-lying
pasture, on the scyr, a shearing or division, from the A.-S. sciran, to
shear, cut off or divide, whence prest-scyr priest's share, or parish.
Skyrholme is on the boundary of the parish of Burnsall and has a
small chapel-of-ease, called Christ Church, erected in 1837 at a cost
of ^"220. Beyond this and the paper-mill here (with its large water-
wheel, which is stated to be 120 feet in circumference) of Mr. Thomas
Lumb there is nothing specially to interest one save the romantic
aspects of the situation.
One might say something about almost every old house in the
neighbourhood, houses which up to the- run-away days of railways
harboured the same families generation after generation, even century
after century. The old dry-built shielings and thatched cottages of
monastic times, however, gave way to the more comfortable and
substantial dwellings of the iyth century, when the ancient feudal
tenures were finally abolished and the tenants got a chance to
purchase their own farms. Land about here which had been
held from the King /// capite with all its attendant slaveries, was at
383
length freed by tin- grand statute of 12th Charles II,* a statute which
• acquisition to the civil property of this kingdom,
rightly observe^ Sir \\'ni. Blackstone, than Magim Carta itself. It set
the seal of emancipation upon every species of holding and gave the
honest farmer a chance to save and thrive. It gave a stimulus to
improved farming as well as to new building and to greater social
and domestic comforts. The ball of progress had undoubtedly been
set rolling by King James' abolition of military tenures, and the
granting of leases and sales by the land speculators on the dissolution
of monasteries, which did so much to disunite the people. In the
reign of James I we find long and favorable leases granted to the
tenants in Appletrewick, and that within the next fifty years man}' of
them had built for themselves what would then be considered little
palaces compared with the old turf " warrens " they had previously
occupied.
Locally the best mansion of this period is Percival Hall, which
is a house with a history. As the initials and date C. P. 1671,
appear over the doorway, it was very probably built at this time by
a gentleman of landed means, named Christopher Lowson, of whom
I possess some information. He wooed and wed a bonnie dalesman's
daughter, Elizabeth Demaine eldest daughter of George Demaine, of
Skyreholme. She was baptised at Burnsall, Aug. iyth 1634, and
married at the same place on Valentine's Day 1660, at the very time
when General Monk had declared for a free Parliament and the
restoration of the Stuarts. She died in 1695, a widow, her husband
having died on April 6th 1693. Their eldest daughter, Catherine
Lowson, married at Burnsall in 1678, Robert, only surviving son of
Michael Inman, of Harefield, Pateley Bridge. At this time
Christopher Lowson gent., was residing at Percival Hall, having
removed from Gowthwaite, in Xidderdale, and he appears to have
owned considerable property. His son-in-law Robert Inman was a
grandson of Robert Inman, of North Pasture House, an old monastic
grange at Brimham, in Nidderdale, who was a great sufferer by
the Civil War. Three of his sons perished while serving in the
Parliamentary arm}-. In the depositions of the State trials in the
time of the Commonwealth it is recorded that his house at Brimham
was plundered by Royalist soldiers, who took away 16 cows and
oxen, and he himself was thrown into prison at Ripon for refusing to
take the oath of association with the Cavaliers. Robert and
Catherine Inman had 14 children, 3 sons and n daughters, all
portioned and married, but only one son Christopher, survived his
father, who died Dec. 26th 1721, and the mother, Catherine,
* Down to (his time the tenant* ot the neighbouring manor of SiNden owned
themselves bound to give one day's mowing in the Castle field at Skipton or elsewhere
on the lord's demesnes.
daughter of Chr. Lowson, died June 5th, 1723. Christopher Inman
was twice married, leaving an only son Michael, by his first wife,
who was bom in 1716, and entered the shipping trade at Hull. His
half-brother, Charles Inman, was in a similar business at Lancaster,
and was ancestor of the well-known firm of Transatlantic steamship
owners. Michael Inman died at Doncaster in 1784, having married
Deborah, daughter of Christopher Bayles, of Laxton, near Howden,
gent, by his wife, Elizabeth Wastill, granddaughter of Richard
Peirse Esq., of Thimbleby. His wife Mary, daughter of Matthew
Hutton Esq., of Marske, in Swaledale, was the fifth generation in
descent from the " King " of these parts, the great and wealthy
Henry Clifford, created Earl of Cumberland in 1525, the purchaser
of Bolton Abbey and chief lord of the fee. Thus by the match with
this Skyreholme yeoman's daughter, we are able to establish a
connection through nine generations to the noble house of Clifford,
while the ancestry of Deborah Bayles, who married Michael Inman,
great-grandson of Christopher Lowson and his wife Elizabeth
Demaine, of Percival Hall, is set out in Burke's Royal Descents and
Pedigrees of Founders Kin. Some of the Inmans lived at Gateup on
Appletrewick Moor, but no connection has yet been established
between them and the Nidderdale family.
From Percival Hall we may soon reach the romantic gorge of
Trailers Gill, above alluded to, with its traditions of the spectre-
hound (barguest), about which the reader with a taste for legend will
find a long rhyming ballad in Hone's Table Book. The ravine, in a
survey of the Clifford estates, in the reign of Edward II., is called
" Gordale in Appletrewick," most likely from the Danish geir, a
triangular piece of land terminating in a chasm, and still used in
Denmark in that sense. The ravine itself is about half-a-mile in
length and is cut through an abrupt face of mountain limestone,
broken by fissures from which specimens of fluor spar (the " Blue
John" of the Peak district mines), are obtained. Being traversed by
a good flow of water and being only a few yards wide, the passage of
the gorge is not to be recommended except in dry weather. The
writer will not forget many years ago pursuing the boulder-strewn
course of this miniature Khyber shortly after a flood, and with great
difficulty succeeding in reaching the high ground at the Moor Cock
near Stump Cross Caverns. In the upper part of the limestone above
Skyreholme Dam there is a " swallow " called Hell Hole, which opens
out into a large oblong chamber, but it can only be descended by
means of a rope and reliable lamp. The first known descent of the
chasm was made at the end of June, 1896, by members of the
Yorkshire Ramblers' Club, including Messrs. S. W. Cuttriss, T. S.
Booth, J. W. Swithenbank, G. T. Lowe, L. Moore, and C. Scriven.
The perpendicular descent from the surface to the floor of the cave
was found to be no feet. There was a shallow pool of water at the
tiottom, and tlu- main chamber is in two parts, made liy an over-
hanging projection of rock. But the place appears to he of no -real
extent, nor are the ramifications of the cave little more than mere
fissui
A few yards to the south of this strangely-named pot-hole (see
HKIMIK.N) i> the entrance to an old lead working. Traces of ice
action are to be seen in the vicinity of the gill, with numerous
travelled boulders lying about, while all around there grows a
profusion of that beautiful mountain gem the Grass of Parnassus.
Some of the field-walls higher up are built of limestone conglomerate,
and the rock /// situ may be seen in the beck whilst walking in the
direction of the Greenhow Hill road near Fancarl Crag. The pretty-
vernal sandwort is one of the floral gems of these high moors and
wherever refuse from the lead mines is scattered, there the tiny rays
of this solitude-loving flowret are always most plentiful.
CHAPTER XXXII.
BURNSALT.
In tin- laiut D| tin- Viking-- Meaning- of the name Burnsall -Dale-names in the Sag-as —
l'os|-\orman history — The glebe Local monastic possessions — Bond tenure
( )nality and weight of cattle in ancient times First evidences of the occupation
of Hurnsall Revival of Christianity -Karly sculptured crosses Hurnsall never in
the parish of I.inton Ancient holy-wells Description of rros.se* Historical
inaccuracies The medietics of the church The ancient chapels at Rilston,
Common, and Bradley Rectors of Hurnsall The church described Kleventh
eentiirv font Churchwardens' accounts Old customs Local pastimes The old
(irammar School Local improvements Pleasant scenery.
^
HEN we get to Burnsall we are in the land of the
Viking, and most of the old names and traditions are
of that cult. Dr. Whitaker's contention, so often
repeated, that Burnsall is the hall on the burn is a
fallacy based upon imperfect knowledge of this
subject in his day. Moreover it is questionable whether the Wharfe
at Burnsall which he holds enters into the composition of the name,
is entitled to be described as a burn ; assuredly not as that word is
understood now in Northumberland and Durham. In Domesday
Burnsall is written Brinshale and Brincshale, which in Norman-
French comes very near the Norse bruii, whence Briinolvi, " the
wolf-browed," or Brunolfr, which is the oldest form of the common
name Brynjolfr.* After some Viking warrior then Burnsall was
named and doubtless in the Qth century when the sons of the
redoubtable Ragnar Lodbrok, Hubbe, and Halfdan, (who were slain
about A.D. 878), first invaded this part of England, and in the names
Hubberholme, higher up Wharfedale, and Hubbercove at Skirethorns,
abide some indication of this conquest.!
In the famous saga of King Sigurd, the Dragon-Slayer, who
ranked " high over all the kings of the north as the sun ranks
above the stars," we read of his heroic achievements until secretly
murdered by his brothers-in-law, Gunnar (from whom the place
Gunnerside) and Hagen (from whom comes Hagenlith now Hanlith),
and of his espousing the brave and beautiful Brynhild, whose noble
daughter Craka is the heroine of a very pretty story. Is our
An instance of a i^th century survival of the name Brim in Wharfedale will be
found on page 44.
t Rag-nar I.odbrok had a son Bjorn, which is simply Norse or Danish for "nobly
born," or a prince, equivalent to the A.-S. beorn, a chief, nobleman or ruler. Hence
in the (V/r/c.v KxtiiiU'nsis Thorpe renders " Burn-sel " as a princely hall."
388
ancient village Cracoe and Crakehall (in Domesday Crachele) near
Bedale named in her honor ? Many of these old saga-names are
found perpetuated in places in the Yorkshire dales, and a complete
catalogue of the numerous personalities of these Viking stories would,
while determining the origin of many of our dale-places, enable us
•to declare where the Norsemen gathered and told their sagas and
sung their war-songs over the foaming mead ! Tales of marvel and
daring many of them are too. The heroic Ragnar Lodbrok, above
mentioned, is said to have worn " breeks " impervious to dragons'
teeth, thereby winning his incomparable wife Thora (there is a
Thor's or Thora's well at Burnsall) out of the house where she was
guarded by the savage dragon, Lindworn, who lay watchful upon a
pile of gold. The large debased dragons on the Burnsall font, cut
more than a century after Ragnar's invasion, bear I must say no
allusion to this old legend. On this I will speak presently. Ragnar's
second wife was the beautiful princess Craka already mentioned,
who like the shepherd-lord of Barden Tower, had been (so the
tradition runs) brought up in disguise as a peasant by the bond-
couple Akd and Grima, the latter well-known Norse appellative
occurring in our Upper Wharfedale Grimwith.
But coming now to actual record we find that Burnsall in 1066
consisted of two manors. One of these embraced two carucates and
two bovates in Burnsall and its dependent corn-vill, Drebley, held
by one Dringhel, which were harried and wasted at the Norman
Conquest (see page 376) and subsequently given to the powerful
Osbern de Arches. The other included three and a half carucates
in Burnsall and its appanage Thorpe-sub-Montem, owned by one
Hardulf who was permitted to retain them of the king. He was
perhaps the same Hardulf who entered York, Oct. 3rd 1065, and
avenged the murder of Gospatric, Gamel, and Ulf. Gospatric was
uncle to Gospatric, lord of Bingley before 1066, and in this parish
are Morton and Riddlesden, also part of the possessions of Hardulf,
probably the same. His Burnsall estate, with Drebley, subsequently
passed to the Romilles and was held by the family of Bulmer* and
Fitzhugh, as part of the Skipton fee ; while the lands of Osbern
descended to the Hebdens, and in 1315 William de Hebden obtained
a grant of free warren in Hebden, Coniston, and Burnsall. At this
date the manors of Burnsall were held by William de Hebden,
and Peter Gilliot of Broughton-in-Craven, from whose descendants
Broughton was acquired by the Tempests. f The last of the Hebdens
in the i5th century left two daughters co-heiresses, one of whom
married a Tempest of Bracewell, and the other wed Sir Thomas
Dymoke, of Scrivelby, Co. Lincoln. The Burnsall estates were thus
' Sec Fines 4th John (1202) Surtecs Svc. Pub. Vol. 94 p. 19.
I \i''' i'fillcittinea Tupog. et. Gen. 1't. XXIII p. 307 &c.
3*9
divided, one moiety going In tin- Tempests, and the other to the
Dymoke family.* Such a division of the property involved a partition
of the benefice of the church, and from an early period until the
order of 1876 consolidated the rectory, it was in medieties and there
were two rectors presented by different patrons. The parish was
then divided and each rector (the present rector of Burnsall and
the rector of Rylston) has now a moiety of the tithe and a glebe
as before when there were two rectors of the whole parish. But
Hartlington, within this parish, pays one-third of its tithes to the
rector of Linton. Most of the glebe attached to the rectory of
Burnsall is at the southern extremity of the township of Appletrewick
and was allotted in lieu of tithes of which that township is clear.
The \\hole glebe amounts to 429 acres.
The monasteries of Fountains and Marton-in-Cleveland owned
considerable properties in Burnsall, while the whole of Appletrewick
with Woodhouse was in possession of Bolton, Marton, and Fountains
Abbeys. Bertram de Buhner, the founder of Marton Priory about
A.D. 1150, gave 30 acres of land in Burnsall and Thorpe, with
pasture in the same district for 300 sheep and 30 cows, which Henry
de Xevil, his grandfather, confirmed. To Fountains Abbey Walter,
son of Uchtred de Ilketon, gave lands here about 1237, also Andreas,
son of Richard, clerk, of Sundene (a locality which cannot now be
identified) gave a culture of land called Lounthwayt (a place not now
known), with a toft and croft, which Peter Gilliot confirmed. Also
Ernald, son of Amfrid de Thorpe gave Robert the son of Richard,
his native, with his cattle and one toft and a messuage here, with
common right. This was the composition made about A.D. 1302
between the parson of the church of Burnsall and the monks of
Fountains, whereby the latter agreed to pay to the former one mark
of silver per annum in recompense for the tithes of three carucates
of land in Kilburn and Bordley on Malham Moor.f The said
"native" of Thorp was evidently a bond-tenant no doubt living at
Thorp in the old Hall, and though he with his family and cattle
could be sold at the will of the lord, such bond-tenants were as a
rule not so badly off as one might suppose. They occupied their
holdings at a low rent, rendering various services to the lord, but
with the decay of feudalism towards the end of the i4th century
many of these services lapsed by desuetude and such bond-tenants
became even more comfortably circumstanced than the freemen
paying higher rents. Often such bond-tenants were the principal
landholders in the manor.
I omitted to mention in the notice of Sir John de Eston's
* Burnsall appear- to ha\<- been held by Richard Tempest, of Boiling- in the parish
of Bradford, who died in 1581, but how or when it came to be subsequent!}' disposed ot
I have not ascertained,
t See Burton's Mon. Ebor. p. 153; also Yorksh. Ret; Sft: XVII, 70.
39°
possession of the manor of Appletrewick that in 1275 ne gave
common pasture for all kinds of cattle on the common of Appletrewick
to Fountains Abbey throughout the year. The land was then of
course unenclosed and this promiscuous feeding of "all kinds of
cattle" out of the same "dish" was by no means calculated to
promote weight or quality of the meat. Indeed small heed was
given at that time to the breeding of cattle, there being little winter
food and no artificial grasses. Cows and oxen were not a third of
their present weight, while it may surprise the modern farmer to
know that the fleece of a sheep yielded on an average not more than
a single pound of wool.* Sir John likewise granted to the monks
free passage for their cattle, horses, goods, and carriages through
his lands from Malham Moor and other parts of Craven, and his
brother, James, added a grant of pasturage towards Nidderdale, on
the north of the way leading from Cravenkeld to Nussaheved (where
is this?) and so to Gathorp (Gateup) beck to the ancient site of the
Monks' Bridge.
But let me now go back some centuries before these events,
when Christianity was beginning to revive in the district. To
comprehend the manner and time of the extension of Roman
Catholicism in Wharfedale from Otley and Ilkley to Burnsall after
the suppression of the Scotic Church in 664, we must turn to the
collection of early sculptured crosses now preserved within the
Church at Burnsall. There are no fewer than thirteen fragments,
but not one shews the careful treatment and magnificent detail of the
Otley or Ilkley crosses; they are apparently of much later date and
this is significant. It is however almost certain there was something
more than a preaching-cross at Burnsall, and that the parish had
been formed long before the erection of the nth century church, the
existence of which is proved by the remarkable coeval font still in use.
It is also clear from the laws of Canute there were many churches,
some of which in all probability erected in his reign and still standing,
are not recorded in the Domesday inquest. The learned historian of
Craven, Dr. Whitaker assumes by tradition that Burnsall was originally
a member of Linton parish, but there is nothing at Linton in stone
or record that can lay claim to the antiquity of the parish of Burnsall.
Indeed as I hope to make evident when dealing with Linton, the
"city" of Grassington was the capital of that district before the
Norman Conquest, and only became subservient to Linton when that
parish was formed on the Norman settlement. The probability is that
Grassington like Appletrewick was a flourishing centre of an Anglo-
Celtic population long before either Linton or Burnsall came into
note.
There are two important holy-wells at Burnsall, one situated
* See Rogers' Hlstotv of P> Ices &c., Vol. i p. 52 &c.
391
within the glebe north of the church and rectory, and the other a
short distance beyond. Both may have been originally dedicated to
pagan deities, and upon the settlement of Christianity within the
parish, that within the glebe changed its ascription to St. Margaret of
Antioch.* The other, which is close beside the river (perhaps the
original site of baptism), was dedicated for all time to St. Helena, the
mother of Constantine, whose popularity in Wharfedale I have
elsewhere referred to. But none of the crosses are as old as St.
Wilfrid, to whom the church is dedicated, and it is more than
probable that the teaching of the faith did not reach this sparsely
EARLY SCULPTURED CROSSES AT BURNSALL.
populated district until the Danish usurpation of Xorthumbria. Nor
was it firmly established until the time of the institution of Canute in
1017, when the idol and brazen image were again, and as it proved
The fame of this virgin martyr surpassed nearly every oilier in England in the
i;,th century, though very little is known about her life. Mr. Haring-Gould says sin-
was the daughter of a heathen priest, one Kdess-ius of Antioch, Pisidia (not Antioch in
Syria) and was brought up by a Christian nurse. In Art St. Margaret is represented
with a cross in her hand rising out of a dragon, s(,m,-times with a dove upon her.
392
for ever afterwards ordered to be cast aside. To this period I refer
the Burnsall font.
The principal fragment among the broken crosses is part of a
shaft about five feet high, sculptured on all four sides. The front
face bears what is sometimes called a vertebrae pattern, though Mr.
Calverley sees in this device the great World Ash Yggdrasil, of the
old Norse Edda the "tree of the universe, of time and of life."* A
design of this character appears on the well-known Gosforth Cross in
Cumberland, of the ninth or tenth century, and also on the standing
cross at Muncaster, which Mr. Collingwood thinks shews evidence of
Irish-Viking influence. There is also at Burnsall a very badly-
weathered "hog-back" memorial of some warrior Viking of the same
period. It had formed the lintel of the south doorway prior to the
restoration of 1859. It appears on the accompanying engraving,
together with other of the fragments, amongst them being a cross-
head, twenty-four inches wide, which bears a cross potent in the
centre, and is very similar in design to the so-called Paulinus cross in
Godley Lane, Burnley. Another fragment of a cross-head fifteen
inches wide, has a circular raised knob or boss in the centre, three
inches in diameter, which may signify the sun, though Mr.
Collingwood thinks that these bosses which are common on Christian
cross-heads, may be only the natural development of the nails in the
original wooden construction.
Turning now to record-times, there appear many inaccuracies
among the published "authorities" on this parish. Lawton cannot
be right in assuming that the disastrous effects of the Scottish invasion
of Craven after Bannockburn did not reach Burnsall, as the Taxatio
Ecclesiastica (ca. 1291) records ^13 6s. 8d. as the value of each
mediety, while in the New Taxation (1318) it is entered :
Kcrl. de Hrynsall divisa est. P's Rici et P's Johis ^20
that is Richard's part and John's part, each ^10. In the King's
Books the annual value of the medieties is stated to be each ^18,
and the yearly tenth each ^i i6s. od. In volume eighteen of the
Parliamentary Survey it is recorded there are .two medieties worth
together about ^160 per annum, "yet some of the parish claim
exemption from tithes of the Cistercian order. We find that there
are three chapels in the said parish, but no certain maintenance
belonged to any of them. The chapels are at Rilston, Coniston, and
Bradley, which in regard they are far distant from any church and
from one another (the nearest not being within three miles, and the
way being bad) and the congregation belonging to each chapel being
sufficient for a parochial assembly, we conceive it fit that the said
three chapels be all made parish churches, and endowed with a
competency for a minister's maintenance." The allusion to "Bradley"
* See Calverley and Colling-wood's Early Sculptured Classes, pp. 139, 167, 238, &c.
mu>t surely refer to the old Domesday village of Bordley on Malham
Moor, though no one knows that a church or chapel-of-ease was ever
continued after the Reformation as was the case at Rilston and
Coniston.*
In the Xotitia Parochial is (No. 253) there is also this record :
There are two medicties, each worth about £70 per annum or upwards. Part of
the Rectory is impropriate ;is the town of Rilston, the tithe corn whereof is i<
now in kind by the truant* of the Hon. Henry Boyle [Lord Lieutenant of the \\V-t
Riding- in 171.4; died 17.24] and the same has so continued since the time of O. Elixaheth
in the hands <,| the Earl of Cumberland, whose grant they show for the enjoyment of
that tithe, they paying yearly to the Rectory £,1, 6s. 8d. ; but we can give no account
how that part of the Rectory was dismembered, it being an entire lordship, not given
lo any religion-- house, and formerly in the hands of the Nortons. who as tradition
informs us, at the time of the Northern Rebellion in O. Kli/abeth's days, were sei/cd o!
tlie tithes by way of lease, and it is also supposed had then been for some time, by the
connivance of a son of that family, which after his rebellion, were with several other
lordships conferred upon (iconic, Marl of Cumberland, for services then done.
Among the early rectors of Burnsall (omitted by Whitaker) it is
interesting to note, was John de Kirkby (1270-2), author of the
famous and invaluable record known as Kirkby s Inquest. It is a
record indispensable to the full understanding of parochial history,
throwing as it does a valuable side-light on most of the manorial
holdings in our county at a highly interesting epoch. Kirkby was
made Bishop of Ely in 1286, where he died in 1290. In the third
edition of Whitaker's Craven there is a list of the rectors of both
medieties down to their amalgamation in 1876, when the Rev. Chas.
H. Carlisle became rector of the joint incumbency. The present
rector, the Rev. W. J. Stavert, M.A. was instituted in 1888, and it is
a pleasure to record not only his interest in the work of a large
country parish whose population is widely scattered, but the
commendable care he takes of the venerable mother church and its
every belonging. The interior is a model of neatness and fitness as
a temple worthy the praise of God, while every fragment of stone
which bears witness to the high antiquity of the sacred edifice has
been judiciously removed within the precincts of the church, an
example that might with advantage be followed by other incumbents
in our historic Yorkshire dales, so famed for their evidences of early
Christianity. Mr. Stavert is also an indefatigable record searcher,
especially in departments of geneaology, while much of his leisure
in recent years has been usefully employed in transcribing and
publishing the important registers of the parish of Skipton, as well as
of his own parish of Burnsall, and he has, I believe, been instrumental
in inducing other incumbents of parishes to take up this valuable
* Although the chapel at "Bradley" is stated to be in Burnsall parish, it is quite
possible in the Commissioners' Survey confusion may have arisen in the monks of
Fountains' possessions at Bordley and Bradley. They had an estate at Bradley, three
miles north-east of Huddersfield, where was an ancient sanctuary belong-inp to the
Benedictine Nunnery of Kirklees near Dewsbury.
394
kind of work. By his interest I am enabled to present the following
revised list of rectors of the first mediety; the list given in Whitaker's
Craven being apparently correct from the first recorded institution in
1294 to the year 1570. The name of John de Kirkby in 1270-2
must however be added.
DATE or INST.
RECTORS OF THE FIRST MEDIETY.
PATRON'S.
HOW VACATED.
29 July, 1596
Joli. Tophan (bur. 30 Jan. 1618-19)
Joh. Lambert of
By death
Calton aim.
6 .Mar., 1618-19
Thos. Tophan (bur. at Linton 10
Thos. Topham, sen.
Jan. 1651)
of Cracoo
165,
Chr. Lancaster (bur. 30 Dec. 1694)
By resig.
.685
Rob. Tophan (buried 9 Apl. 1690)*
By death
1690
Pet. Alcock (bur. 10 Oct. 1733)
Joh. Alcock, gent.
By death
6 Dec., 1733
Joh. Alcock M.A. (res. 7 Jun. 1753)
Ellen Alcock, of
By resig.
Burnsall, widow
1 8 June, 1753
Joli. Alcock B.A. (bur. 25 Nov.
By death
1810)
28 Mar., 1810
Richd. Withnell (d. 1826)
By death
3 Mar., 1832
Joh. Baines Graham
Rev. Joh. Graham
By resig.
of York
1 6 Feb., 1838
Gregory Rhodes
do.
By resig.
14 Feb., 1839
Wm. Bury M.A. (d. 10 Feb. 1875
do.
By death
Bur. at Coniston)
27 Nov., 1875
Capel Wolseley B.A.
Susan and Maria
By cess.
Graham
8 May, 1876
Hen. Theo. Cavell
do.
By resig.
The list of rectors of the other mediety commencing with the year
1230 appears to be correct, down to the institution of the Rev. Chas.
H. Carlisle in July, 1875, who was the first rector of the conjoined
incumbency, as stated above.
The church, as I have said, bears evidence of an existence from
the ninth or tenth century, although the earliest portions of the
present fabric are of no higher antiquity than the thirteenth century.
Several of the Anglo-Danish crosses above described were built into
the walls of the present church, and were carefully taken out during
the restoration in 1859. A Norman corbel has been built in a
curious-looking recess in the south aisle, necessitated by an alteration
in the exterior wall, while the bases of two of the pillars at the east
end appear to have been abaci of Norman pillars. One of these,
used as a foundation of the octagonal column on the north side, is a
square plinth bearing a chevron ornament, and a rude bit of
sculpture, which may be a hunting scene, similar to one I have seen
carved on a Norman abacus in the parish church at Richmond. On
the south side there is a similar square plinth, at each of the four
angles of which appears a small grotesque face. A square plinth
with a leaf ornament placed at the angles may not uncommonly be
found in ecclesiastical buildings of Early English times.
* Probably an assistant minister only.
THIRTEENTH CENTURY SCULPTURE, BURNSALL CHURCH.
395
At Murnsall tin- ea>t end of the church is undoubtedly tin-
oldest constructive portion of the building now remaining, and the
buttresses here are of very rude finish, no doubt the work of local
masons. At both the north and south angles they are double,
consisting of five stages, and terminating at only half the height of
the aisles. There are two short buttresses of similar character
beneath the choir window, and on the north side of these is a longer
buttress having a very flat appearance, consisting of three shallow
set offs. the base projection being only eighteen inches, and the
mid-projection only twelve inches. It i>, like the others, not carried
to the roof of the church. The plinth is deep, and of massive
masonry, differing in this respect from the coarse mason-work
beneath the adjoining east window of the south aisle, which is
evidently the oldest complete portion of the church now existing. It
is a very rustic example of late Early English (1230-50), consisting
of two lancet lights pierced at their angles , the soffit and jambs
being perfectly plain, with a splay inside of twenty-lour inches. The
window is fitted with modern stained glass, a memorial to the wife
of the Rev. A. C. Bland, who died in 1858.
The church has been almost entirely rebuilt in the reign of
Henry VIII.,* but the tower has been begun somewhat earlier. It
is a very massive embattled structure with good plinth mouldings,
which are not continued round the church. Inside it opens upon
lofty pointed arches into the north and south aisles, and at the base
of the south pier is a Z mason-mark, like one on the tower entrance
at Bolton Abbey (see page 319). The columns of the nave arches
are octagonal, supported on irregular bases. When the church was
restored by Mr. John Varley, in 1859, the plain and much-decayed
sixteenth century chancel-arch was taken down and the present one,
supported on clustered shafts with ornamental capitals, was erected
in its place. At that time the church had a west gallery, where a
barrel-organ stood, and the ringing chamber was behind. These
objectionable features were done away with at the restoration
referred to. The whole structure, I understand, was in a very bad
state of decay, both inside and out, and Mr. Varley, resident
architect, undertook the difficult work of restoration, acting himself
as clerk of works, and carried it out in a very thorough and
conscientious manner, and at a remarkably low cost. The accom-
panying sketch, reproduced from the scarce original in possession of
the late Rev. A. C. Bland, shews the humble appearance which the
church presented sixty years ago. Prefacing this chapter is the
* The family of Nussey has long been resident in the parish of Burnsall. One of
its members, William Nussie, early in the reign of Henry VIII., was living in the parish
of Bradford, and by his will, dated 6th July, 1521, he leaves 35. 4d. to Burnsall Church,
in all probability towards the work of rebuilding then going on. See Bradford
Antiqtiaiy, 1894, p. 219.
396
present view of the church, from an excellent photograph by Mr.
Fred Turner, a nephew of the present schoolmaster at Burnsall.
During the alterations an ancient stone altar bearing the usual
five incised crosses, was found, but it was unfortunately broken up
for wall-stones in the architect's absence. The one at Linton is
happily preserved, having had a similar narrow escape. A sixteenth
century Biblical text was also discovered printed on the wall of the
south aisle. But perhaps the most notable discovery made was in
the floor of the north aisle, where was found a remarkably fine
thirteenth century "Adoration of the Magi," beautifully sculptured in
alabaster, and when found it shewed much of the color and gilding
with which it had been originally decorated (see illustration facing
BURNSALL CHURCH IN 1839.
page 395). The same subject appears sculptured in stone in low
relief over the west doorway of Higham Ferrers Church (St. Mary's),
Northamptonshire, but the example at Burnsall is much superior and
larger, and is probably unique.
The oak choir-screen, erected in 1891, bears four small shields
of arms, and the north screen, separating the choir from the vestry,
is a memorial to the wife of Mr. John Varley, the architect who
restored the church. The screen on the south side, originally the
gift of Sir VVm. Craven, consists of Jacobean lower panels, with new
work above. The east window has three plain lights. The roof of
the choir is open-timbered and affixed to the ends of the hammer-
ANCIENT FONT IN BURNSALL CHURCH.
397
beams are ten small modern shields of arms, (the work of the present
rector), the four on the north side are (i) Tempest, lord of the manor
of Burnsall (2) Yorke, lord of the manor of Appletrewick (3) Wilson,
lord of the manor of Hartlington (4) Dawson, lord of the manor of
Hartlington (5) Hartlington. On the south side they are (i) Craven
of Appletrewick (2) Sir Wm. Craven, Kt. (3) William Geo. Robert,
Earl of Craven (4) Evelyn, Countess of Craven (5) Stavert. There
are memorial tablets and stained lights in the church to the families
of Heye, Carr, Batty, Waddilove, Bland, Stockdale, Ellison, Tennant
and Hebden. The parish accounts shew that 45. was spent in
flagging the church in 1704, also in 1708 is. 6d., 1752, 53. 4d., and
in 1758 for laying 64 yards of flags in the church, 2 is. 4d.
A word now upon the font. I have mentioned the well of St.
Helena beside the river, north of the church, and it is not improbable
that this spring was originally employed in administering the rite of
baptism, Consecration of water for baptism is first mentioned by
Tertullian (De Bapt. c.iv.), and streams, wells, and even rivers were
first employed for that purpose. It was not until the fourth century
that Constantine the Great introduced baptisteries, which were then
furnished with altars, (see ILKLEY, page 191) and a very exact account
of one presented by this Emperor to the church of the Lateran is
given in the Life of St. Sylvester in the Bibl. Pap. of the so-called
Anastasius. Over these early fonts doves of silver and gold were
sometimes suspended in allusion to the circumstance of Christ's
baptism, and such symbolical figures are sometimes found carved
upon the stone receptacles of later date. It is possible the crude
bird-like forms carved upon the Burnsall font may have such a
significance, though some look very much like fishes. The animals
shewn on the accompanying engraving of the font, are not like the
winged Cetus, or sea-monster, symbolizing the waters of baptism, an
example of which appears on the Dearham font in Cumberland, but
seem to me to be merely a debased form of the Norse Leviathan,
duplicated as we often find both in pagan and Christian art. Their
tails instead of presenting the usual worm-twist of the earlier art-
makers, are entwined somewhat in the form of a Greek Omega. The
whole may signify the conquest over sin at baptism, and the work
may confidently be ascribed to the eleventh century, for inasmuch as
had befallen the Constitution so it happened in Art, there had been
anarchy and decline ever since the death of the good King Alfred.
The square, chamfered support, which rests upon a modern octagonal
base, bears a diaper carving similar to the early Norman diaper work
on the nave columns in Selby Abbey and Durham Cathedral. At
the top of the font is a cable moulding. It is worthy of note that
this valuable relic of ancient Christian art was for a long time previous
to its restoration in 1859 used as a whitewash-pot for "embellishing"
the interior of the church!
The churchwardens' accounts of the parish of Burnsall, before
alluded to, commenced with the year 1704, and contain many items
of more than local interest, such as the bonfire celebrations on the
5th November, which seem to have been a general charge on the
parish. In 1709 there is 58. entered as being spent by ringers "on
King Charles martrdum." Lord Craven, whose Burnsall ancestry I
have before explained, contributed no less a sum than ,£50,000 in
furtherance of the unfortunate King's cause in the Civil War. In
1709 35. is entered as "spent on the Quenes procklemeshon," and
is. 8d. as "spent by the rengers on that day;" also 2S. "spent on
polm Sunday by sidesmen." The sum of 43. is entered in 1712 as
"spent on St. Thomas' Day, also 53. on the same occasion in 1713.
It seems from an entry in 1713 that the parishioners not only
provided the dog-whipper, whose business it was to keep the dogs
quiet during divine service, but they also kept him in shoes and
clothing. A new whip in 1726 cost 4d. The church-clock is
mentioned in 1704 as requiring oiling. When it was erected there is
nothing to shew. In 1745 William Prior the celebrated Nessfield
clock-maker, provided a dial at a cost of 5s. In 1743 "Mr. Austin"
was paid 195. for binding the church bible. Would he be a Leeds
Austin of the same family as our poet laureate? In 1745 Major
Harper received is. for "fixin the dial post." New church-gates
were provided in 1746, for which James Swail received £i us. 6d.
There is a handsome lych-gate there now.
A good old custom for which Burnsall has long been celebrated
is mentioned in 1706 when 25. 6d. was given to ringers on May Day.
A new May Pole was erected April igth, 1891, the previous one
having stood since 1874, while one which had been erected on May
ist, 1834, was blown down during a very wild night in January,
1839, and from that time until 1862, Burnsall was without its
commemorative shaft. The dissolution of monasteries made almost
a clean sweep of Roman Catholicism in Upper Whafedale, although
a few families continued staunch to the old faith long after the
Reformation.* The Puritanical spirit of the Commonwealth however
suppressed all the former fun of May Day, and the May Poles were
taken down, and were not replaced until the restoration of Charles II.
in 1660, when the huge May Pole in the Strand, London, was re-erected
and the old sports were revived. In the year above mentioned, 1706,
the celebrations took place on Old May Day (now May i2th) and as
evidence of the tenacity of ancient creeds and customs Old May Day
is still the day fixed in many parts of the country for turning the
cattle out all night in the fields. The parish feasts are, as a rule
fixed by the amended dates of the calendar according to the day of
* In 1678 Anthony Bland, constable of Burnsall, had 15.*. allowed him for conveying
George Long, a Popish recussant, to Wetherby Sessions.
399
the festival of the patron saint of the church. In 1706 for example
St. Wilfrid's I), iv (the festival of his nativity) was August ist. In
September 1752, eleven days were omitted from the calendar, thus
St. Wilfrid's Day was then reckoned to fall on August i2th. In
1800, which was not a Leap Year, the interval became one of twelve
days, and in 1900 and up to 2100 the difference will be thirteen days.
Burnsall Feast consequently should now fall on the first Sunday after
August 1 3th, though I believe the 12th is still adopted as the day by
which it is regulated. Its popularity has greatly declined, though at
one time the feast-week afforded rare opportunity for conviviality and
merry-making. It probably originated before the Conquest. The
festival of the good Bishop Wilfrid (who died in 711) is of course
a very ancient one, and in the time of King Ina (who died in 725)
it was enacted that if any freeman work on a feast-day he must forfeit
to the Bishop eight shillings, while even a serf or maid-servant must
pay four shillings, so rigorous were the penalties for neglecting such
honor to the church and its prime ministers.
Sports and pastimes of various kinds were renewed in the days
of the "Merry Monarch" in this Royalist village with all the old
vigor of the ante-Cromwell era, and even a century ago one might
have seen various games of ball &c.. played on the Sabbath, in
accordance with the license in King James' Book of Sports. A
characteristic story is told of the Rev. John Alcock, who was rector
of Burnsall, and died there in 1810. One Sunday while on the way
to service in the church he met a number of boys in the heat of a
game of football, and he called out and remonstrated with them,
reminding them that it was the Sabbath. But the lads took no heed
and the ball in a moment alighted in front of the worthy rector.
"The better the day, the better the deed" must suddenly have entered
the good man's thoughts, for he at once raised his foot and giving
the ball a hearty kick sent it flying away over the heads of the
admiring youths! "There," he said, "that's the way to kick," while
the lads cheered and cried, "Well done, parson!" as the latter moved
towards the church with an air of "something accomplished, some-
thing done." Other stories of bygone rectors might be added, but
the following must suffice. When Peter Riley was sexton of
Burnsall, he and the parson were, one wild winter clay, the only
persons present at the Sunday morning* service. But the good rector
went through the service notwithstanding, and when he commenced
with the usual words, " Dearly beloved brethren," the listening
sexton suddenly started up and called out: "Xeea, neea . ye maun't
seay 'Deearly beloved brethren,1 ye maun say, 'Ueearly beloved
Pete'!"
Among other old local events and customs I might mention
there was formerly prevailing here a singularly pleasing funeral
custom. When any young female died in the parish the village
4oo
maidens formed themselves in procession and preceded the body on
its way for interment at the church. They bore with them a wreath,
often, when in season, made up of wild flowers, to which was attached
a slip of paper inscribed with the name and age of the deceased.
This was hung on the old oak screen in the church and remained
sometimes for many years until it crumbled away. Sometimes the
memorial took the form of paper gloves, hearts, or anchors, made in
homely fashion and suspended in the same manner to the old screen,
where aged people now living tell me they remember seeing them in
their young days. The same custom prevailed in other Wharfedale
churches.
Those indeed were days of rural isolation, when the same
thoughts and habits moved the minds and hearts of the people as
they had done in the old ancestral times. They were days full of
calm and joyous simplicity, when the stress of life, which weighs so
heavily in these days of commercial heat and hurry, was hardly felt.
Though there be I know, men in Wharfedale in this year of grace,
1900, who have never seen the iron-horse nor heard a railway-whistle,
yet in truth they are few and far between, for the iron road year by
year shoots deeper into the hills, and who shall say that in our time
it will not reach even the mountain tops!* No place left for quiet
of mind or calm of soul! Railways, post and telegraphs, printing,
electricity and the like have driven Simplicity from her accustomed
haunts and the quiet of Nature is invaded in her remotest parts. A
story apropos of these innovations came to my knowledge not very
long ago, which I repeat if only to shew how even the most distant
farm cannot escape the postman's knock or the far-reaching advertising
sheet. A farmer in the upper dale who was very much troubled
with the caterpillar-pest, sent half-a-crown to an agent in the Midlands
for what was described as a "lightning caterpillar-killer," and received
in return two perfectly plain blocks of wood, upon which was written
these directions: "Take this block, which is No. i in the right
hand, then place the caterpillar on No. 2, and press them together.
Remove the caterpillar, and proceed as before." Whether the
recipient sickened and died from the deception, so "characteristic of
the age," my informant did not relate. Perhaps he has never been
heard of since, except on this page! Oliver Heywood tells a rather
singular story in his "Event Book" under the year 1664. "At
Burnsall in Craven," he writes, "was a greavous feaver amongst very
many. A man and his wife were both sick : the woman rose out of
her bed and came to her husband's bed-side in her smock, and said
'it's now ten of the clock and time for me to be gone.' She then
went out and was never found nor heard of since, which is almost
* A project, for carrying a railway to summit of Ingleborough has lately been
started. Well may we exclaim with Wordsworth "What spot in Nature in secure from
rash assault?"
401
three weeks ago." Such village tales, amusing or sedate, might be
told by the score, but it is time now I passed to more improving
subjects.
The fine old Grammar School at Burnsall was founded in 1603
by Sir \Vm. Craven, before mentioned, and the original building, of
which I give a view, is still standing, an excellent example of the
domestic style of that age. The projecting porch is noteworthy with
its flat-headed doorway having ornamented spandrils, the last link
connecting it with the Perpendicular style. The beautiful old leaded
window-panes and gable-finials are also characteristic. The school
maintains the good traditions of the founder and is now attended by
THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BURNSALL.
about fifty boys and girls. There is now a convenient play-ground
attached, formed from a piece of land given by the late Mr. Win.
Chadwick, who with the Stockdales constituted the principal local
landowners. I may here record the interesting names of the original
trustees of the school: John Topham, clerk, Wm. Brogden, clerk,
Anthony Craven, of Darley, [how related to the famous Dr. Wm.
Craven, of Gowthwaite Hall?]* Robt. Craven, of Appletrewick,
" W thr> authr>r'« \iddfrdalr.
4O2
Anthony Craven of the same, Thomas Craven, son of the last named
Anthony, Peter Benson, of Knaresburgh, George Heles, of Burnsall,
Nicholas Rayner, Thomas Preston, the elder, Robert Yonge, John
Waters, and John Yonge. Sir William also left money for the repair
of the church and schoolhouse, likewise for the building of four
bridges in Burnsall parish, including the restoration of Burnsall
Bridge and the repair of the highways between Appletrevvick and
Burnsall. The present substantial bridge of five arches was erected
in 1884, replacing the one built in 1827 which was overthrown by
the great flood on Jan. 29th, 1883.
Forty or fifty years ago there were not a few objectionable
features about the village, as one might have seen at other places in
the dales at this time. Provision was made for ash-pit refuse which
used formerly to lie about the houses, and the sanitary conditions
of the place generally were much improved. Ivy-beck bridge was
also built, the churchyard was enlarged and the old stocks set up,
improvements were effected in the Grammar School, and the whole
place was made to assume a better and tidier look. The village is
now one of the sweetest and most attractive in the dales. It is
amply provided with house and inn accommodation. The old
Red Lion in the village, (so called from the arms of the Hartlingtons)
and the Fell House hotel on the hill-side are both capital houses of
entertainment, being well patronised in the season. The village has
now a post and telegraph office and letters and post-parcels are
received through Skipton, by which place they should be addressed.
The many miles of river-side* and moorland walks are most
diversified and picturesque. Everywhere there are scenes of delightful
rusticity, while to the naturalist and geologist the district affords a
rich and varied field. Loup Scar, a little beyond the church is a
charming spot, where the cliffs of limestone overhang the surging
Wharfe, here forming a belt of eddying foam as it tumbles over the
broken ledges in the river. On the way to Hebden is Thorskill, a
well of ancient repute which (unless this be a shortening of the old
saga-name, Thora's Keld) still retains its pagan dedication, a very
rare circumstance in Wharfedale.
* A gx>ld coin (a half noble) of the reign of Edward III., in perfect condition, was
found on the banks of the Wharfe near Burnsall In Nov. 1871.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THK ANCIENT TOWNSHIP OK THORPK, OK THORPK-SUI;-M»NTKM.
A "Sleepy Hollow," the "birth-place <>t the world" A pre-Christian burial-vault
and old bear den — The shoemakers of Thorpe — The Baily Hill, an old British
encampment — Evidences of coral-iecf- Klboltun Cave- Discovery of human and
other remains -Antiquity of the clcpo.-it- Bones of Arctic animal- Subsequent
history — The hall and manor-hou.s< — Former aspect-.
jHE retired little village of Thorpe lies a short two miles
to the west of Burnsall, and is parcel of that ancient
parish, to which it has doubtless belonged by tie> of
family inheritance even from the first Celtic invasion,
— ! long before the Christian era. The discovered remains
hereafter mentioned prove this, while the ancient demarcation name
black, before explained, occurs near Langerton Cottage, close to the
western boundary of the township, again confirming the regard I
have shewn of each succeeding race of conquerors to adhere to the
original landmarks. Here at this quiet home-spot among the Craven
dales, peeping into the " Sleepy Hollow " in which the cosy hamlet
lies, you seem indeed to stand at the very birth-place of the world.
For here are evidences that carry you back to the obscure era of the
first appearance of human life in this part of our globe; and they
are assuredly evidences of a highly interesting character. Presently I
shall have something to say of these pre-Christian burial-vaults in
the hill beyond the village, and of the old bear-den, which has
yielded bones of the huge grizzly monster now extinct in the Old
World, as well as of those reindeer-herds which accompanied the
nomadic tribes that once lived among the lichen-covered hills of
Craven.
" Old," indeed, is not the term to apply to a place of such
antiquity as Thorpe, and I sometimes wonder whether its hyegone
race of shoemakers — for nearly every house had its cobbler — was
descended from those original followers of St. Crispin who came
from Rome in the fourth century, and, dare we say, made shoes for
the veteran Roman lead-miners of the surrounding hills? Were the\
the free-born ancestors of that Adam of the war-like Richard's
Poll Tax of some ten centuries later, who is described as " Adam vat
Godmade, shoemaker,'' then living at Edesley (Ardsley), in West
Yorkshire, and who may have been, for aught I know to the contrary,
primogenitor of the old race of cobblers of Thorpe?
Thorpe, perhaps, at one time formed a kind of suburb to that
most ancient British "city" now called Grassington. It would seem,
404
however, in remote times always to have constituted a self-dependent
tribe, and never to have been subject to Grassington or Linton. The
rector of Burnsall has kindly allowed me to inspect the old tithe-map
of his parish, and amongst the surviving field-names in the township
of Thorpe I found the significant ones of High and Low Baily. a
name which I have elsewhere shewn to be associated with the first
Celtic invaders of our Yorkshire dales.* On my next visit to Thorpe,
a few weeks afterwards, I was gratified to find in the positions
indicated upon the map abundant evidences of this ancient Celtic
settlement still existing, although much obliterated by enclosure of
the land in recent times. Anciently this " baily hill " was one
undivided settlement, protected with ramparts of earth and stone,
and commanding a look-out north, east, and west, of great strategical
importance. I observed foundations of ancient walls five or six feet
thick, and some traces of ancient housesteads, of which again no
cognizance has hitherto been taken. In the High Baily are
appearances of a double ascending rampart, with excavated
enclosures, while in the field below, now called Reins, are other
remains of thick-walled foundations and enclosures. Nothing short
of a complete excavation of the site would reveal the full extent and
significance of this old Brigantian settlement.
To the west of Thorpe there are a series of round and shapely
hills or knolls extending in a north-easterly and south-westerly
direction, known successively as Elbolton, Stebden, Butterhaw, and
Garden. These little hills are of great geological interest, having
originated by the peculiar extension from the south of the Pendleside
limestone, and formed largely by coral organisms, it is supposed on
a sinking sea-bottom. Mr. R. H. Tiddeman, of H.M. Geol. Survey,
observes that they do not obey the rules of dip and strike which are
usually found to obtain in ordinary parallel-bedded deposits. When
they are perfect they are seen to consist of a flat top, the dip of
which easily agrees with that of the other rocks of the country
around in the direction of angle of dip and steep sides of round, the
dip of which is away from the centre of the hill. A careful
consideration of these circumstances leaves little doubt but that the
knoll-reefs have been formed in a similar way to coral-reefs, by
growth upwards under favourable conditions of the animals of which
they are composed, and by the piling up by waves, perhaps also in
some places by winds, of the resulting debris.
Very important interest attaches to the first-named of these
hills, Elboton or Elbolton, \ as within it was the occasional dwelling
* See the author's Old Bingley, pages 47-49.
f Not Elf or fairy hill as some writers would have us believe. The prefix El
(foreign) I have explained in the origin of the name Elmete. Boton or bolton may be
the Teutonic botn, a depth, or bolt, a dwelling ; the whole word meaning foreign
d-aeellers, or the zrarc. of foreigners, applied by the Teutons to their Celtic predecessors.
4°5
and tomb of the very people who lony before the Christian era
occupied the rocky camp or hill-station I have above described.
The entrance to the vault is at the foot of a small scar of limestone,
about 100 feet from the top of the hill. It has a small pit-like
mouth, which can only with safety be descended by means of a
ladder, though it is evident the original tenants used no such
convenience, as old-crusted footholds appear in the sides of the cave
downwards from the mouth. The existence of the cave has been
long locally known as Knave Knoll Hole. It was not however until
1888 that the Rev. E. Jones, of Embsay, undertook the exploration
SECTION OF ELBOLTON CAVE.
of the cave at the instance of the Craven Naturalists' Society, and
shortly afterwards I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Jones on
a visit to the cave, while the work was going on. Subsequently the
British Association made a grant of ^25 towards a more complete
unearthing of its contents, and a committee was appointed to act in
concert with Mr. Jones as secretary. The results abundantly justified
the outlay and labour incurred ; great credit being due to Mr. Jones
for his vigilant and careful management of the work during the
exploration. Ten years ago he very kindly supplied me with a
roughly-drawn section of the cave, from which I have made the
annexed plan, together with some particulars from a paper read by
him at the 1890 Meeting of the British Association.
It appears the deposits were in two very clearly defined layers ;
human remains being confined to the uppermost. To reach this a
descent had to be made of about 20 feet from the entrance to the
hole, marked E on the plan, where the chamber measures about 30
40 6
ftvt in length, A 15, and from 7 to rf> feet in widtli. At 12 feet south
from the datum line, A 15, a skeleton nearly complete was found,
and in a rece.ss three feet further away another was seen, while just
opposite in the middle of the chamber a third was discovered.
These had not been disturbed and were evidently in the original
positions of burial. The one in the recess and the one in the middle
of the chamber had been interred in an upright sitting posture, the
knees being bent close to the skull, in all respects in the manner of
the present native tree-burials in British Columbia and other parts of
North America, where however the doubled-up bodies are not placed
under ground but suspended in blankets to the boughs of large trees
and there allowed to remain until they decay. The skull of the one
in the middle of the chamber, it may be remarked, was crushed by
overlying debris, while the other two being better protected by the
sloping sides of the cave, were fairly well preserved. In these cases
it is also noteworthy, a semi-circular wall of rude masonry enclosed
the bodies. Two skulls with some charcoal and fragments of pot
were found at the west end at a depth of 13 and 15 feet respectively,
while at the entrance to the chamber the human remains were covered
only to a depth of 3 to 5 feet. Altogether the remains of about
twelve human individuals were found, all of the "long-head" type
living from 2000 to 3000 years ago. Other bones from this layer
included red-deer, boar, sheep, horse, dog or wolf, fox, badger,
together with large numbers of the smaller carnivora and rodents.
All the larger bones, other than human, have been broken and many
split lengthwise, most likely by the primitive cave-men to obtain the
marrow.
Charcoal with calcined bones was found in three or four places,
and at 1 8 feet on the north side, at a depth of 9^ feet, the actual
floor-hearth was discovered, together with calcined bones of bird and
beast, the remains of a primitive feast. Peat had evidently been
used for the fire. The fragments of pottery found consist of circular
vessels, burnt from within, the concave surfaces being coated with a
layer of charcoal, and the outer surfaces ornamented with diamond-
pattern and other designs, shewing that these old cave-men in the
struggle for existence had even then a feeling for art. No flint or
metal was found. The total depth from E to F on the plan is 20
feet, and to the bottom of the cave D, 52 feet.
The lower chamber was filled up with clay and stones mingled
with numerous bones of bears, mostly of Ursus ferox in all stages of
growth from tiny cubs to big old bears. Other bones were of
animals addicted to a cold climate, such as reindeer and Alpine
foxes and hares which were in great abundance. In the "new
chamber" were bones of bears and Arctic hares, evidently washed
down from the clay chamber. From the presence of these remains
it is almost certain the cave was occupied by these animals when
4°7
the Craven hills and dales were still enduring the rigors of the
depart in- [ce Age. The extremity of the new chamber was filled
with water, the roof dipping into it at W on the plan, the total
length from E to W being 140 feet. This pool was originally eight
feet deep but by excavation it has been much reduced, so that other
passages have been made accessible, one of them leading into what
looks like an old lead-working. Lead in fact has been worked in
this hill until recently.
Such are the evidences from which one might draw a lively-
picture of the rude life and environment of the- dwellers at Thorpe
during the remote Stone Age. The Norman Conquest seems but a
recent event in comparison, for there is an almost immeasurable -ap
between the age of some of the lower deposits and the following of
the Romans, Saxons, and Danes, down to the Norman inrush. Tin-
lands here had been held by the Anglo Saxon or Viking descendants,
Dringel and Hardulf, and were then given part to Osbern de
Arches and part held of the King by his thane, the said Hardulf.
Subsequently the manor was long held by the Tempests of Brace-well
and Boiling who granted leases from time to time, only reserving
the manorial rights. The Proctors now own most of the land.
The old Hall was demolished some forty years ago. The Manor
House, so-called, is now the best erection in the village and is the
property of Mr. Richard Proctor of Hetton. It is a Georgian
building with an ample oaken staircase, and one of the rooms is
oak-panelled. There are now no tenements of a greater antiquity
than the i7th century, though the time is not distant when there
were many old thatches, covered with moss and wild flowers, and
their wall-stones brown with centuries of age, which must have lent
an air of very picturesque antiquity to the solitary little upland
village. One such tenement, now a barn, standing at the corner
of the Linton road, has had its thatch removed and a slate roof
substituted, a circumstance applicable to many of the older houses
in the Dale.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
LINTON-IN-CRAVEN.
Numerous Lintons — Historical errors — Local monastic possessions — Traditions of an
alien Priory— Discovery of a remarkable brass crucifix — A brass seal of St. Michael
found near Bolton Abbey — Evidences of Celtic occupation — "Borrans" at Linton
— Celtic customs at Linton — Superiority of Grassington over Linton in Anglo-Saxon
times — The manor at the Conquest — The church— Architectural description — The
rectors — Notes on the registers — Pre-Reformation burials — The old rectories —
Local evidences of Anglo-Saxon and other customs — Linton Hospital— Notable
houses — Delightful scenery.
HERE are nearly a score Lintons in England, of which
four or five are in Yorkshire,* a circumstance that has
led to some confusion in historical records. I may as
well correct at once one important error due to this
fact, apparently first cited by Lawton and which has
since continued to be repeated, namely that a grange at Linton-in-
Craven belonged to the Priory of Old Malton. No such grange has
existed here. The statement has undoubtedly reference to the
farm-house now known as Linton Grange in the parish of
Winteringham, three miles from Sledmere, which with certain lands
&c., there situate formed part of the original endowment of the said
Priory, founded by Eustace Fitz John about A.D. 1150. He died in
1157 and it is a singular coincidence that he should have married
Beatrice de Vesci, the heiress of Alnwick, of the same family who
probably held our Linton in the i2th century. But the only religious
house, so far as is at present known, having lands at Linton-in-Craven
was Fountains Abbey, which had been obtained by gift of Henry
son of Uchtred de Conyngston. These lands consisted of three acres
and one rood near the river Wharfe, that is on the boundary betwixt
Linton and Threshfield towards the west, and five acres of arable
land in Linton Field, a grant which was confirmed by Walter de
Aleman, lord of a moiety of the manor. This is probably the land
now known as Monk Holme.
I have many times heard a local tradition of an alien priory-
having existed in this neighbourhood, although there seems to be no
documentary evidence to support such belief. A lady in Linton has,
w The bulk of these names no doubt proclaim the ancient and extensive cultivation
of flax. The Anglo-Saxon lin meaning flax, and lin-ivyrt, our wild flax. Linton in
Derbyshire, however, appears in the Domesday inquest Lincton, which seems to be
closely connected with the A-S hlinc, a hill-ridge, balk or boundary, a sense which as
Professor Skeat points out, is still preserved in modern provincial English. Hemp and
flax were at one time extensively cultivated at Linton and a few other places in Craven.
4io
however, kindly permitted me to engrave an illustration of a
remarkable brass crucifix, which was found fifty years ago close to
Linton Beck, near an old barn belonging to the late Mr. Christopher
Dean. No representation of the Death on the Cross is, I believe,
known of a higher antiquity than the 6th or 7th century, and the
Linton crucifix is apparently of a date more than three centuries after
this. In a communication from the authorities of the British
Museum it is stated to be "Early French" of our Norman period,
and they add, "possibly found on the site of an alien priory, of which
there were no in this country." The alien priories were all dissolved
by Act of Parliament in the 2nd Henry V. (1414) (not Henry VI. as
stated by Tanner) and the whole of their estates, except some lands
granted to the College of Fotheringay, became vested in the Crown.
The crucifix is 5^ inches in length and 4 inches across the arms.
At each of the four extremities there is a hole pierced through it,
evidently made for the purpose of affixing it to some other object.
Considering the length of time it must have lain on the ground, if
not actually under water in times of flood, it is in a remarkably good
state of preservation. It is indeed the finest example of the period
extant, there being nothing so good in the British Museum or at
South Kensington. Although nearly fifty years have passed since
it was discovered, it is remarkable that so valuable a relic should
have escaped the notice of every writer on the district.
At the south end of the village, not far from the place where
the crucifix was found, there is a field called Foul Kill, which I
cannot interpret ;* though the last word bears a suggestion of the
Celtic kill, a church or burying-ground. It cannot have any
connection with the A.-S. Keld, a spring, or the A.-S. cyll, a leather
bottle or bag, as shewn in the arms of the old Norman family of
Trussebut, lords of Ribston &c.f
Another relic of peculiar interest I am illustrating in this place,
although there is no certainty whence it originally came. It bears a
representation of St. Michael, and as the ancient churches at Linton
and HubberholmeJ are the only ones in Wharfedale dedicated to this
saint it may not be impertinent to comment upon it here. It is a
small brass seal, and the annexed cut d'epicts its natural size. It
was picked out of the VVharfe near Bolton Abbey during low water
about six years ago by Mr. Thomas Roose, the intelligent gardener
at Bolton Abbey. The seal is hexagonal, and the bottom flat portion
bears the device of a human figure armed with a shield and spear
having the point turned to some animal beneath it. In the middle
* There is a prehistoric enclosure called "Foula" at Urswick-in-Furness, where is
an interesting sheet of water, to which a legend attaches similar to that appertaining- to
our Yorkshire Semerwater. See the North Lonsdale Mag., Vol. II., page 145.
f See the author's Nidderdale, pp. 168 and 203. £ Originally St. Leonard.
NORMAN CRUCIFIX FOUND AT LINTON.
SEAL OF
ST. MICHAEL.
appears a tiny object that looks very much like a. spider, and the
whole subject not unnaturally suggests the story of King Bruce and
the Spider. Consequently it might be inferred X_N
that the object had been b'rought from Scotland
and lost here during the raids after the Battle of
Bannockburn in 1318, when Bolton Abbey and
other parts of VVharfedale suffered so severely.
But the seal has been submitted to the competent
opinion of Mr. Joseph Anderson, Sec. of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who thinks
it represents St. Michael and the Dragon, judging
from the mascles on his shield, which were given
in heraldry to St. Michael. The object in the
centre, which may easily be mistaken for a spider,
is in reality the sun. There is moreover nothing-
Scotch about it, nor can it have an)- connection
with the monastery at Bolton, near which it was
found, as the church there was dedicated to St.
Mary the Virgin, and not to St Michael.
Traces and evidences of the Celt are probably
nowhere in Yorkshire more abundant than within
the limits of this parish, which embraces an area
°f J3>235 acres. It includes the townships of Linton, Grassington,
Threshfield-with-Skirethorns and Hebden, a beautiful and romantic
district that was undoubtedly once a strong and highly important
gathering ground of the Brigantian tribes. Wherever we find the field
name bunvens, Intrrens, or borrens, as variously spelled on the maps,
we may be pretty sure that at one time such sites have been
identified with prehistoric erections, such as stone heaps, housesteads,
walls, rocky enclosures. The root of the word is probably to be
found in the Irish boirecimi, rocky ground, a word likewise applied by
the Viking settlers to places abandoned or in ruins. In going from
Linton to the ancient British settlement of Thorpe, described in the
last chapter, you pass a tract of rising ground called by this name,
" Borrans." It stands away to the right near the top of the road,
about 200 yards from the road, and at no great distance from the
Baily Hill described on page 404.
A singular survival of the ancient Celtic method of celebrating
the three stages of the day, sunrise, midday, and sunset, the precursor
of our Trinity, in deference to the triune Head of the universe, also
prevailed in this neighbourhood down to quite recent times. I
gather that when any person was guilty of any offence, or upon the
judgment of his neighbours he or she had wronged another, such
person was compelled to seek expiation by walking three times round
Linton Church. This was no doubt meant to be an invocation to
the Trinity, or a token of subjection to the Trinity, just as the
412
ternary division of a Christian temple into nave and aisles symbolizes
the same doctrine, which has also its counterpart in the three-headed
images and figures associated with triple-symbols on monuments of the
ancient Celtic people, particularly the Gauls. Such a symbolization,
both in its pagan and Christian aspects no doubt also implies a
protection from evil spirits, and Martin relates that when in the
Hebrides he saw a flaming brand carried three times daily round a
new-born babe before it was christened.*
Of Linton in Anglo-Saxon times little can be said except that it
was eventually made the capital of a parish or ancient gemana, of
which Grassington had previously been the chief member. The
much greater extent of cultivated land in Grassington before the
Norman Conquest proclaims the superiority in point of rateable
value and population of that township over Linton. In Grassington
there were six carucates to be taxed, while in Linton there were two.
In Norman times the manor of Linton seems to have been in three
open fields, each consisting of 60 acres, or 180 acres in each carucate,
making 360 acres in all. Only 240 acres paid tax as 120 acres (60 in
each carucate), lay annually fallow. The common and woodland were
not taxed. Twenty-six acres, or rather more than a tenth part of
the annually sown land, was set apart for the exclusive benefit of the
priest or priests, which constituted the glebe. Consequently there
were 334 acres of arable remaining to be cultivated by the tenants
of the lord of the manor in 1086. Some 240 acres lay in common,
which in 1603 were stated to have been pastured by 160 beasts, but
such cattle must surely at this time have been very ill-conditioned
and lean. According to a return made in the above year 1603, when
the manor of Linton was declared to contain about 580 tenanted
acres, there would seem to have been no increase in the cultivated
area from late Saxon times to the latter days of Queen Elizabeth.
Indeed Upper Wharfedale suffered most keenly from the Scottish
ravages early in the fourteenth century, and never properly recovered
its old prosperity until after the dissolution of monasteries.
Linton was one of the six manors in Craven granted by the
Conqueror to Gilbert Tyson, in addition to those Wharfedale manors
of Leathley and Bramhope, already mentioned. For the share he
took in the Barons' rebellion in 1095 his lands were escheated and
* See Pennant's Tour in Scotland (1772), page 94. Canon Ayre relates a curious
tradition connected with the ancient parish church of Urswick in Low Furness, where
the villagers are said to have walked three times round the sacred edifice, while the
priest prayed that their desire for more water might be granted, North Lonsdale Mag.,
Vol. II., p. 146. Baptism seems to have prevailed among the northern nations long
before the introduction of Christianity. It is exceedingly probable that the water
employed was symbolic of the Urdar Fountain which issued from the foot of the
World Ash, Yggdrasill. See Blackwell's Notes to Malet, and Magnusson's Odin's
Horse, Yggdrasill (1895).
divided between Nigel de Albini and Ivo de Vesci. A descendant
of the latter, William de Vesci was lord of the extensive barony of
Alnwick in Northumberland, and by him bequeathed in trust to the
Bishop of Durham, who sold it to the Percies in 1309. How or
when the manor of Linton came to the Percies is not very clear.
They were however in possession of Linton early in the reign of
Henry III. It was then held in moieties by subinfeudation, together
with the rectory which was also in medieties. The church living
continued so divided until 1866 when it was consolidated and
instead of two presentations to two incumbents there is now only
one. Most of the land is now held by various owners, but the
manorial rights are retained by Sir Mathew Wilson Bart.
The ancient Church of the parish is an interesting edifice,
occupying an isolated position near the south bank of the Wharfe,
and surrounded by its pleasant God's Acre, which there is little
doubt has been a place of sepulture since the foundation of the
original building. The oldest structural evidences now existing
are to be seen in the chancel arch and eastermost bays of the north
aisle, and probably date from the reign of Stephen (1135-1154).
The chancel arch has a wide span, being \2\ feet at the base. The
arch is pointed (evidence of Transition character), and rests upon
plain imposts, chamfered on the lower edge, while the plinth is like
that at Burnsall Church, also of Transition character. There is a
massiveness and solidity about the jambs of the chancel-arch and
the before-mentioned pillars of the nave thoroughly characteristic
of the Norman builders, yet possessing features approaching the
Early English style. The jambs of the chancel-arch are 29 inches
thick, and correspond with the central pier-jamb on the north side,
which has a round arch, 28 inches thick, and \2\ feet span at the
springing of the arch. The arch is supported on the east side by
two massive circular pillars, having square capitals plainly moulded
down to the necking, which consists of a plain bead encircling the
pillar. The base of this pillar, which is 5 ft. 2 in. in circumference,
is also circular, and has a deeply-cut scotia, resting on a square
plinth. The two westernmost arches of the north arcade are
pointed ; they have octagonal columns of similar character, but the
arches are carried to a much higher elevation than they are on the
north side, which produces a peculiarly incongruous effect.
The choir is spacious but has a low roof and the aisles are
continued along both sides of it. When the church was enlarged in
the 1 4th century, two bays were added of wide span, the arches
being pointed and supported by octagonal piers having better
moulded capitals than those of the nave, but of the same age. A
vestry has been made out of the east end of the north side of the
choir, and there are three late Norman capitals, relics of the original
building, fixed into the wall. The east window of three stained
4M
lights is a memorial erected upon the completion of fifty years of
Her Majesty's happy reign (1887). The eastern terminations of the
aisles have evidently been private chapels, but no endowments
appear to have been attached thereto. The ancestors of Sir John
Tempest (he was living temp. Henry VIII.) gave a yearly 126.
rent out of their manor of Hebden for the maintenance of a lamp in
the church. At that time the church would be lighted by a few
solitary tapers and would be without pews ; only two or three seats
or plain wooden benches were provided for the aged and infirm.
The worshippers knelt upon the well-trodden earth or upon rushes
with which the floor was in parts covered and which were annually
renewed. Many of the Craven churches were not flagged till the
middle of the i8th century or even later, as at Ilkley.*
There is a piscina, with plain trefoiled head in the south chapel.
The east window of two beautiful stained lights, is a memorial to
Jonathan Crawshaw, of Boroughbridge, who died Nov. 24th, 1864,
and Elizabeth, his wife (daughter of Thomas Brown, of Grassington
House), who died Nov. loth, 1857, and was erected by Anne
Elgood, their only surviving child. On the south side is a stained
glass window placed by her four children to the memory of this
lady, who was the wife of John Garrord Elgood Esq., of London.
She died in 1892, aged 80. Beneath the east window in this chapel
is a small brass plate inscribed to the memory of Thomas Hammond,
of Threshfield Hall, who died March 24th, 1685, and was buried, says
the inscription, "March 27th, 1686," apparently a year and three
days after his decease. But this is explained by the fact that the
legal year did not then begin till March 25th. In 1752 it was altered
to January ist.
There are four old brasses placed on the vestry wall facing the
choir, (i) Elizabeth Redmayne, of Linton, d. 1718, aged 77, (2)
Anne, wife of George Hewitt, of Linton, d. 1678 (3) George Hewitt,
d. 1681 (4) Mathew Hewitt, rector of one mediety of Linton, d. 1674.
There is on the north wall of the chancel a beautiful brass memorial
to the Rev. Henry Crofts, 20 years rector of the parish, who died in
1857, aged 48. He was elder brother of Mary Crofts, who married
the Rev. Wm. Sidgwick, founder of Christ Church, Skipton, whose
youngest daughter, Mary Sidgwick, married Dr. Edward White
Benson, the late Archbishop of Canterbury. On the south wall of
the chancel is also a neat brass to the memory of the Rev. John
Walker, for 33 years rector of the parish. He died February 24th,
1883, aged 91 years. On the south wall of the church is a tablet
placed between two neat stained glass windows erected by public
* The churchwardens of Gargrave in 1728, complain that owing- to the annual
rush-bearing- having fallen into disuse, many people are absenting themselves from
church, because of the discomfort of the bare floor, especially in winter-time.
subscription in memory of John Marker, for 35 years master of
Thresh field Grammar School, and parish-clerk of the church, who
died Aiii,'. iith, 1871, aged 66. Beneath this brass is an original
pointed ;md cusped recess in the wall, 6^ feet wide, evidently
intended for an effigy. Also to the west of it, near the south
doorway is another similar recess. Likewise in the north wall is a
tomb-recess, 6± feet wide, without monument. There are also
inscriptions to members of the Fountaine family, founders of Linton
Hospital.
The west window of the north aisle has two pointed lights,
pierced at the angle of the mullion, which has a flat fillet, deep set,
evidently of the middle of the thirteenth century. Outside the
mullion is flush wich the wall. Another two-light window on the
north side, near the font, is of similar character, the external jambs
being flush with the wall. The principal west window is set back
somewhat, and in better style, though poor Decorated, having a
hood-moulding and a double plinth, the lower of which is carried
round the buttresses. There is no tower, but a contemporary, late
thirteenth century, bell-turret, having rather depressed head-openings
in pairs on each of the four sides. In 1861 it was carefully restored,
together with the rest of the church, by Mr. John Varley, who also
restored the old church at Burnsall. The porch was then built and
all the roofs and seats were renewed.
During the restoration an ancient stone altar was discovered,
which is now placed against the east wall of the south chapel. It
measures sixty-six inches long, thirty-one inches wide, and seven
inches thick, the chamfer on the front being four-and-a-half inches
deep. It bears the usual five symbolical crosses. Here also is part
of a plain stone cross-head, twelve-and-a-half inches wide at the arms
and thirteen-and-a-half inches in length. The font is Norman, a
plain, cheese-shaped bowl eight feet one inch in circumference,
having simple mouldings at the top and bottom, and resting on a
modern octagonal base. In the churchyard is an old sun-dial, and
near the gates is a house which at one time was an inn.
A catalogue of the rectors of the two medieties of the church is
given by Whitaker from 1229. Few clergy-lists begin so early a^>
this. Biographical sketches of the incumbents of this ancient parish
would provide many a useful and instructive story and prove an
interesting souvenir of its past life. The materials however, for such
a treatise are, it is to be feared, but scant. Among the later rectors
was the Rev. Jas. Roberts, who died in 1733. He was something of
an antiquary, with a disposition for examining monuments and
memorials of bygone peoples. Dr. Richardson records the assistance
he derived from Mr. Roberts respecting the Roman road from
Manchester to Ilkley, where in places, he says, it was a paved way,
above fourteen feet wide, and neatly set with the stones of the
416
country. He was succeeded at Linton by the Rev. Benjamin Smith,
a nephew of the great Sir Isaac Newton. He held a moiety of
the living for more than forty years and died at Linton in 1776.
Sir Isaac left him estates worth ^500 per annum, much of which
he seems to have dissipated in excesses abroad. Necessity eventually
obliged him to adopt a profession, and taking holy orders, he at the
age of thirty-two became joint incumbent of Linton. The position
he always looked upon as a species of banishment, despising both
the country and its people, whom he did not disdain to call " baptised
brutes." But however marked at that era the intellectual contrast
may have been between the parson and his flock, it is certain there
was little sympathy between them, which calls to mind an idea of
Matthew Prior, who once declared that "from ignorance our comfort
flows, the only wretched are the wise." The late Rev. Joshua Hart,
vicar of Otley, tells a story of how on one occasion the poet Maude,
of Burley, wrote to Mr. Smith proffering some information about his
late distinguished uncle, which he thought might be of interest to
him. Mr. Smith replied grumpily, but invited Mr. Maude to his table
at twenty miles distance, while at the same time he did not forget to
execrate the country where he lived, adding that he believed
Providence had placed him there to expiate for the sins of his youth.
On the death, in 1866, of the Rev. Alex. D. Nowell, M.A., the
two medieties were, as stated, consolidated, and the Rev. John
Walker, who had held one mediety since 1850, became sole rector.
He was succeeded in 1883 by the Rev. Edward W. Brereton, M.A.,
who resigned in 1890, and who during his seven years' incumbency
greatly earned the esteem of the parishioners. The Rev. Wm.
Aston, LL.D., was next appointed, but only held the living sixteen
months, having died in the prime of an active life, May 29th, 1891,
being only fifty-two years of age. He was interred at Linton, where
a neat memorial cross close to the north side of the church marks
the site of his grave. Dr. Aston had been previously vicar of St.
Thomas' Church, Bradford, and he had also been for seven years a
prominent member of the Bradford School Board. In the formation
and working of the Board's classes for the blind and deaf and dumb,
he took a very active and sympathetic part. Indeed in all educational
matters he always took the liveliest interest, and at Linton during
the short term of his incumbency he had made himself extremely
popular ; many improvements in the parish being due to his foresight
and energy. He was succeeded by the Rev. Frederick A. Colbatch
Share, M.A., the present respected rector, who had been previously
vicar of Riddlesden in the parish of Bingley. Of Mr. Share's labours
in the parish little now need be said. He is a hard and zealous
worker, and I believe has never missed preaching one single Sunday
since his induction to the living in October, 1891. The industrious
rector appears quite content with the 13,000 and odd acres of ground
4*7
within his parish, and has sought no holiday nor other means of
recreation than what this large expanse of mountain, moor, and
pasture affords. He has lately copied for publication by the
Yorkshire Parish Register Society, the important but ill-kept and in
places much tattered registers of his parish, a work requiring the
closest scrutiny and painstaking transcription.
The registers commence with the year 1599, and in 1600 (the
first complete year), the burials number sixteen. In 1601 there were
nine burials, in 1602 they rose to twenty-one, and in 1603 were
twenty-four, and 1604, twenty-two. After this they declined to
fourteen in 1606. These years of excessive burials no doubt mark
an era of epidemic in the parish. The years 1602-4, for example, are
memorable in northern annals, and especially in those of York, where
in 1604 upwards of 10,000 persons are computed to have succumbed
to a virulent plague in that city alone (see page 304). The registers
however contain many records of local longevity. In 1673 is this entry:
Kllcn Smith of Barhouse, Griston [Grassington], buried I4th of May, astat. 108.
In 1659 it is recorded among the burials :
Robert Holdgate of Garneshaw, who was lost by a tempest oi snow that fell the
3rd day of January att night, was found the loth and buried the nth day of the said
January.
The result of the statute passed for the encouragement of the
English woollen trade is duly chronicled in the Linton register; the
first entry being as follows :
1678. John Wraythall of Griston, buried (the first in woollen by Act of Parliament)
3rd October.*
Wise House, an old farm in the parish, standing high up
between Grassington and Hebden, is written in the old registers
Wythes, and it is also interesting to note the name of Hubbercove
which seems to be the same place as the present Wood Nook, Mr.
James Lambert's property at Skyrethorns.f The Paley and Kitching
families have long been connected with this place, which bears in its
old name a suggestion of the Danish Viking Hubba, who is also
perpetuated in the ancient chapelry of Hubberholme, higher up the
valley.
Among the pre-Reformation burials at Linton are the following :
18 June, 1 438. John Coke, rector, to be buried in the church.
18 April, 1483. John Toller, rector, dying intestate, administration was granted to
Peter Toller, Dean of Craven.
22 June 149.!. Peter Toller, rector, to be buried in the church.
* There is surely Mime mistake in the --tatement made in the \oith Riding Records,
vol. VI. ]>. 1 8, that the year 1692 is probably the latest recorded year of a burial in
woollen. The Rev. Robert Fisher, M.A., late vicar of Flamborough, informs me that
the register-books of Flamborough clearly state that during the years 1729 to 1741 the
burials in that parish were in woollen and affidavits are made according to law.
f In the Burnsall Parish Accounts for 1748 I find also this entry : " Paid for 4 load
of lime from Hubercoe and fetching it, 3s. 6d."
4x8
There were formerly two rectories very near each other, and at
the angles of each of one of the outer basement walls was a squint
or splayed opening, a rather unusual circumstance in private dwellings.
They provided the owners with a convenient means for watching
each others movements, though primarily intended to receive verbal
messages in the night-time, when it was not always expedient to
undo the fastenings of the door.
Many interesting old customs were prevalent among native
families in this district within living recollection, which seem to have
been the actual survivals of the habits and manners of their Anglo-
Saxon forefathers, when everything was in common. The kiln in
A PEEP IN LINTON VILLAGE.
which 'the grain was parched previously to its being ground, belonged
to the township at large. See also HEBDEN. Each of the small
freeholders, too, grew his own barley and malted it for his family's
own use, and Dr. Whitaker remarks that the large steeping-trough
which belonged to the village in general, was existing in his early
days. The cows of the village being fed in a common pasture, were
also under the care of a single herdsman, who he tells us, drove
them every summer morning and evening to the Green Loaning, to
be milked. At the annual Feast " vast syllabubs being mixed in
pails at the place of milking, to which all the inhabitants contributed,
and of which, if they thought proper all partook.'' At christenings,
weddings, and funerals there was invariably a feast and the guests
were invited to drink from the family's loving-cup, or posset-pot, an
interesting example of which I have lately seen in the possession of
a lady at Linton.
At Hallow Tide certain herbs possessed the power of enabling
such who were inclined to sec their future husbands and wives or
even of recognizing who was to die in the near future.* The herbs
might be carried in the hand or pocket, or fastened to the dress, to
ensure the efficacy of the spell, just as they are by- the North
American Indians, who use by the way a similar set of prehistoric
numerals as those employed by old Linton farmers in counting their
sheep. In South Carolina the medicine men sprinkle the warrior
chiefs with the juice of a certain herb just before they engage in
battle. Hallow Thursday was in Craven generally recognized as a
holiday and the schools were closed during the whole day. The
rector of Linton, Mr. Share, tells me that formerly the Benefit Club
men were accustomed annually on this day to wait upon the rector
and request him to give them an address, which he did, usually in
the churchyard, or if wet, inside the church. For this service they
presented him with a guinea. See also page 281.
The old Hospital at Linton, which is so striking a feature in
the village, was founded by will dated July i5th 1721, of Richard
Fountain, a native of Linton, for six poor men or women of the
parish. The income from this and other local charities is derived
from about 400 acres of land situate in Grassington township. The
present rector of Linton is chaplain to the Hospital, having IMVII
licensed by the Bishop in 1892. Before this time the chaplaincy had
been granted by the trustees only. The founder, who amassed
great wealth in London, died in 1721, and left a number of mourning
rings to relatives and friends, several of which I learn, are still in
existence in the parish. Near the Hospital is the old pinfold, a
relic of the time when much land being unenclosed the straying of
cattle was a much commoner occurrence than at present.
Linton Hall, now a farm-house, is a large and substantial iSth
century building, situated close to the highroad through the village.
It is the property of the Rev. Thos. Whitaker Nowell M.A., who
resides at Linton House, and is the principal landowner in the
parish. He is the second son of the Rev. Josias Robinson, M.A.
rector of Alresford, Essex, who died in 1843, by n's wife, Margaret,
only daughter and heiress of William Atkinson, Esq., of Linton, who
died in 1816. Mrs. Robinson in 1843, assumed by royal licence the
name and arms of Nowell, for herself and issue, out of respect to
her uncle Alexander Nowell, who was an officer in the Indian Army,
* The practice at Linton was to walk seven times round the church when the
doomed one would appear. Such superstitions are current in Ireland even at the
present day. See Kennedy's Legends of the frixfi Celts page 74 &c.
420
and subsequently settled at Underley in Westmorland, for which
county he was some time M.P. He married twice (i) Maria Theresa,
daughter of Thomas Kearnan, Esq., of London, and (2) Charlotte
daughter of James Ffarington, Esq., of Shaw Hall, Co., Lancaster.
He died at Netherside, near Grassington, in 1842. His eldest son, I
have already mentioned, was rector of Linton. Other noteworthy
and picturesque homesteads about the village are Troutbeck and Ivy
House, the latter possessing perhaps the largest specimen of an ivy-
tree in the North of England. At z\ feet from the ground the
principal trunk measures nearly 4 feet in circumference, while the
girth of each of its two main branches is 2 feet 9 inches.
There are still resident in the parish several worthy families,
descendants of the old yeoman class, who have lived on the land
held by their forefathers for generations and even centuries. Perhaps
the oldest of these, of whom we possess actual record, is the Deans,
who were living at Threshfield in the time of Richard II., and
probably before. The Craven dales indeed have been the nurseries
of many worthy and distinguished folk, not the least conspicuous
amongst whom was the Rev. Wm. Sheepshanks, who was born at
Linton in 1740. He was the son of a small yeoman proprietor, and
rose to high dignity in the church, becoming Prebend of Lincoln and
afterwards of Carlisle. At one period of his life he kept a private
school at Grassington and had for one of his pupils the learned
historian of Craven, Dr. T. D. Whitaker. He was I believe ancestor of
the present Bishop of Norwich, the Rt. Rev. John Sheepshanks, D.D.
The scenery of the Wharfe is very charming in the neighourhood
of Linton, and the waterfalls here are one of the "sights" of the
neighbourhood. The river which is spanned here by a light bridge
is of considerable breadth, and its shattered limestone bed, caused by
the great Craven fault — or double fault as it is here, — with huge
rocks, dark with peat-stain, contrasting beautifully with the foam-
white water, presents a picture that is always a favorite subject with
the artist and photographer. An illustration of it prefaces this
chapter. The once famous Linton Falls Creamery may be seen from
the bridge abutting upon the river. The buildings originally were
part of the old soke-mill, but the business was suspended about
seven years ago, and the house with the land is now let. The large
mill, close to the falls, was formerly a worsted and afterwards a
cotton-mill, but it has not been running for about twenty years.
Behind the mill there is a capital section of a glacial moraine,
composed of rolled stones, gravel, and clay. In the field-wall beside
the road may be seen some huge glacial boulders, and there is a
very large one standing alone in the adjoining field, which from one
point of view bears a striking resemblance to a human visage, and a
notion prevails among the young folk of the neighbourhood that this
stone will fall on its face when it hears the cock crow.
CHAPTER XXXV.
AROUND THRESHFIELD.
The sense of freedom and freshness among the Craven fells — The valley at Threshfield
— Caverns at Skirethorns and evidences of prehistoric inhabitants — Remarkable
finds — Early cultivation of land— Ancient customs — The family <>f Threshfield —
Local grants to Fountains Abbey— The Old Hall— Inn— Craven butter— N'otable
houses — Local families — The park — Grammar School — Distinguished pupils.
]S you leave the main road from Linton to Grassington
and step westward towards Threshfield, there is
something indescribable in the soothing and satisfying
influence of the expanse and freshness of land and sky
and air that envelope you here with such magnificent
compass. In the mellowness of a fine summer's eve, when the
declining sun lights up far-reaching mead and fell and scar, the sense
of freedom and of stillness is delightful, while imagination is rife with
the strange forms of giants and fairies and all the witchery of old-
time lore and legend belonging to this romantic Crag Land. The
valley here is exceptionally wide, indeed much wider than in any
other part of Upper Wharfedale, and has possibly been an old lake
bed. Here and there are deposits and mounds of debris left by
disgorging glaciers. These mounds contain not only boulders and
pebbles of local limestone but also of Silurian grit, the latter being
said to be exposed in situ in the neighbourhood of Threshfield and also
at Gordale Scar. It is also conjectured to underlie the limestone
at Kilnsey.
Threshfield-with-Skirethorns has an interesting history extending
far back to the time when bears and wolves and bisons were as
common among the Craven hills as rabbits and hares are now. In
the wild hill-land round about are traces of primitive housesteads,
barrows and ancient caves, partly filled up with clay and debris, in
which bones of the above and other strange animals have been found.
Perhaps the most notable tumulus is that situated at the north side
of the wood at Skirethorns, which probably covers the remains of
some old Celtic chieftain. The most notable cavern yet discovered
is situated near the lonely Height Farm, at an elevation of 1200 feet
above the sea, and but a short distance beyond the hamlet of
Skirethorns. It was first opened in 1890, when skulls, bones, and
teeth of bison, reindeer, wolf and various other animals and birds
were turned out.* An iron spear-head and fragments of rude earthen
vessels have also been discovered in the vicinity of the cave. But
* The discovery was first publicly announced by me in the Naturalist for July 1890.
422
the most remarkable object discovered was a curious implement
having a haft made of a reindeer's antler, in which was set a tooth,
supposed to be the incisor of a hippopotamus. It was found resting
on a bed of sandy clay in the Fairy Cave or Calf Hole at Skirethorns,
and has been stated to be a relic of palaeolithic man, but the evidence
for such a conclusion is very imperfect. Our Northern land was too
long submerged, and its life obliterated with ice and snow, to have
retained evidences of such remarkable antiquity. In Switzerland
however, Professor Geike has shewn that there is a faunal succession
following the retreat of the great glaciers of the third glacial epoch,
and that palaeolithic man was certainly contemporaneous in the
BONE CAVE NEAR SKIRETHORNS.
Alpine Vorland with the tundra and the steppe faunas. In the North
of England on the other hand it is very questionable whether any
evidences carry us back beyond the Second Stone or Neolithic Age.
Professor Nilsson in his Primitive Inhabitants of Scandinavia, informs
us that there are no evidences of man in Norway or Sweden or
indeed throughout the north of Europe before this period.
My impression is that all the relics, with the exception perhaps
of the reindeer implement, are of the time when the descendants of
the aboriginal settlers had been driven to take refuge in the caverns
and rock-shelters of the surrounding hills on the invasion of the
Teutons. Iron for example was employed in England long before
423
the advent of the Romans, although bronze was the metal in common
use all through the Roman occupation of this country. Iron would
not appear to have been in very general use until after the Teutonic
irruption, though Mr. Ernest E. Speight, reports the discovery of iron
knives in mounds containing a crouched skeleton, near Grassington.
The sagas of the old Norsemen, who peopled our dales in the ninth
and tenth centuries, mention no other kinds of weapons than those of
iron and neither in history or tradition is stone, flint, or bronze
referred to. But this, of course, does not prove that stone weapons
were not in use at the time; indeed in our own district there is no
doubt they were.
Land was cultivated at Threshfield most probably in the early
centuries of the Christian era, and before A.D. 1066, there were
upwards of 300 acres under the plough. Cu>toms surviving almost
to our own time can be distinctly traced to the occupation of tin-
district by the ancient Danes. Here we are told there was an arable
town-field, a town-meadow, a common pasture, and common rights
on the moors, all interesting remnants of the Teutonic or old English
open field-system. The customs of the manor were that at every
change of the lord one year's rent had to be paid by way of fine,
and at every change of tenant an arbitrary fine, as lord and tenant
could agree. On the death of a tenant his best chattel, living or
dead, went to the lord by way of heriot. The tenement moreover
always descended in accordance with the unalterable maxim of
feudal succession, to the eldest son, or failing male issue, to the
eldest daughter of the deceased. The heriot dues are undoubtedly
a relic of ancient villein tenure, when everything living and dead,
the men on the estates, with their families and cattle and goods,
belonged to the lord, and which he might have seized all or in part
during the tenant's life-time. Their first establishment in England says
Sir William Blackstone, was by the Danes, and in the laws of King
Canute the several heregeates or heriots are specified, which were
then exacted by the King on the death of divers of his subjects,
according to their respective dignities. These compulsory heriots
being eventually transmuted into reliefs, or customary forfeitures in
the manner indicated, were almost entirely confined to copyhold
tenures, which is the life of all estates by copy. But a heriot may
also appertain to free land, that is land held by service and suit of
court, in which case it is most commonly a copyhold enfranchised,
whereupon the heriot became due by custom.
The first lords of Threshfield of whom we have any certain
record were those who took their name from this place,* and who
* Although the place appears in Domesday written I'rrxi ln>ri-lt there is no doubt
that the initial 't,' was miscopied by the Norman transcriber of the original re-turn*;
the letters ' t ' and ' f ' in the script of that period being- very similar. Another example
will be found on page 289, where Hangelit is written Hangelif.
424
in all probability were descended from the original pre-Conquest
owners. They made liberal donations of their possessions here to
the monks of Fountains, who were the largest landowners among
the religious houses in Craven. Helias son of William de Thresfeld,*
with the consent of Adam, his brother, gave half a carucate in
Threshfield, with one acre on the south side of the hill called
Hareshow, with tofts. Adam, son of William de Threshfield,
quitclaimed his right in the common, and in whatever belonged to
him in the place called Snocrig, and he also gave a free passage for
carriages &c., over his land in Threshfield. Other grants and
THE OLD HALL, THRESHFIELD.
concessions were made by the same family, all of which were
confirmed by the Popes before A.D. 1260. Bolton Priory had also a
small estate here with the tithes.
There has no doubt been a capital residence here from the
Norse or Danish Conquest. The existing hall or manor-house is a
roomy ryth century building, reflecting in its sturdy masonry and
ample windows those social and manorial changes which I have
elsewhere spoken of as beginning to be manifested in the latter
days of Queen Elizabeth. There are extensive foundations of other
* A daughter of Helias de Threshfield married William de Clapham, ancestor of
the Claphams, lords of Beamsley, (see page 329).
425
buildings on tin- south side of it, the remains no doubt of some
.Ming mansion, or offices appurtenant to the hall. The old
house is now used as a dairy for the inn, which was formerly known
as the Ne'n< Inn, hut about forty years ago the sign was changed to
the more appropriate title of the Old Hall Inn. It is a modern,
well-built hostelry, fit up with every requisite for the comfort and
entertainment of visitors. The landlord's wife, Mrs. Robert Metcalfe,
has a reputation far and wide for the excellent quality of her home-
made butter, and usually takes the leading prizes at local shows.
It is a regrettable fact however, that Craven butter should have
fallen into disrepute with the ever-increasing importation of the
Danish commodity, but local enterprise is now happily beginning to
move in the dales, and with our rich pastures, — the greenest and
sweetest on earth '. — there is no reason why the product of Craven
churns should not only equal but excel in every particular the
imported article.
On the village green are the old stocks and a pleasing May
Pole. There is also here a good modern house, which may be
noted for its substantial projecting porch built in the Tudor style,
with a mullion-windowed bay and a good circular light above. It
was formerly the residence of the Hammonds, a family who were
large landowners in the neighbourhood, and who in the lyth century
resided at the old Hall. There is another substantial farm-house in
the village, which sometimes gets the name of the old Hall. It is
now tenanted by Mr. James Metcalfe. Over the door are the
initials and date R. H. 16 — (probably 1660). Some of the walls are
from four to five feet thick.
The whole of Threshfield, with the exception of a small farm on
the south side of the village, belonging to the Demaines of Harden,
is now the property of Sir Mathew Wilson, Bart., of Eshton Hall,
Gargrave. The Radcliffes were a noted family who once resided
here. Charles Radcliffe, of Threshfield, was Clerk of the Peace in
the West Riding and Associate before the Judges of Assize in the
Northern Circuit in the reign of James I. His daughter, Mary,
married Major John Hughes, of Rilston, who was slain in the wars
of King Charles' time, and whose family it is not unlikely built the
substantial dwelling above mentioned. The above Charles Radcliffe
died in 1637 and was buried in the chancel or choir of Linton
Church, where his ancestors were interred.
Formerly the manor of Threshfield belonged to the Nortons, who
married the heiress of the Radcliffes in the reign of Henry VII., and of
whom there is a memorial in Rilston Church. In the Roll of Attainders
(1570), the manor is entered as of the value of ^34 19*. When
the Cliffords obtained their estates, after the Catholic rebellion at
that time, the greater part of Upper Wharfedale was ranged by
numerous herds of deer in a half-wild state. Several "parks" were
426
enclosed for their preservation and maintenance, and keepers were
appointed to watch them. One of these was at Threshfield, where
there was a herd of 120 fallow-deer kept in 1603. Many wild deer
continued to roam about Eskdale and Wastdale, and over the North
Yorkshire fells until the succeeding century, and I have before
mentioned those still existing on the hills near Bolton Abbey.
The old Grammar School at Threshfield, which serves for a
wide district, originated through the munificence of a former rector
of Linton, the Rev. Matthew Hewitt, of whom there is a memorial in
Linton Church. He died in 1674. He was descended from a family
long settled in the neighbourhood. In a compotus of Francis, Earl
of Cumberland, for the year 1610, I find the name of Nicholas Hewet,
as collector of rents and farms within the manor of Linton. Though
the old school has undergone some changes, it is a landmark of no
little interest and one with associations that will always be cherished
in the life-story of the parish. As a lad I used to listen to tales of
adventure, of "runaway" holidays, and of a variety of strange or
amusing episodes, recounted to me by the late Mr. John Bentham, a
former pupil at the school, whose grandfather had been curate of
Linton, now about seventy years ago. The recollection of these stories
makes one marvel at the vast changes that have taken place in school-
life in our Craven villages since that time. But in spite of the laxity
and freedom that prevailed in the old days, many a youth of sterling
ability received beneath its roof the rudiments of an education which
laid the foundation of an honorable or distinguished career in after
life, and who never looked back to those days of youthful happiness
but with tears of affection for the old school. Among an earlier race
of pupils may be mentioned the Rt. Rev. Dr. Dodgson, Bishop of
Elphin, Dr. William Craven, scholar and philanthropist, whose first
tutor was the notorious Eugene Aram, Dr. Thomas Dunham
Whitaker, the historian of Craven, &c., and others whose worthiness
have added no mean lustre and renown to this little Craven academv.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CELTIC GRASSINGTON.
Romantic scenery -Archaeological interest — Grassington an ancient "city"-
Extensivo prehistoric earthwork-; &c. — Recent discoveries — A Celtic stronghold —
Antiquity of local lead-mine-; —Roman conquest — Bronze and iron — Discovery of Roman
coins Tin- Hii^-li Cln-e encampment — Roman roads Peculiar field-names — Celtic
traditions l-'airv Hole -Miners' superstitions— Celtic numerals An old Roman custom.
jEW inland resorts of late years have made such a bid
for popular favor as this romantically-placed little
Wharfedale town. Bright and sunny is the hill-side
on which the old town stands , its southern aspect,
pleasant surroundings, and dry limestone soil making
it one of the most enjoyable and salubrious places of public resort
in our dales. The scenery of the locality is also of the most
attractive and varied character, delightful river-side walks, woods,
waterfalls and spreading moorlands yield infinite entertainment to
the lover of picturesque or wild scenery. And neither do the
attractions of the district cease here, inasmuch as from an
archaeological standpoint there is provided an almost unrivalled field
of interest.
It may seem strange to declare that this little out-of-the-way
spot has been one of the principal cities in the kingdom. But I
have no doubt that in far-off ages it was the capital station of a very
populous and important district, as population and importance were
reckoned in those days. Recent discoveries abundantly prove this.
Viewing the country northwards from the Town Head Beck, and
including say a triangular area extending one mile north-west from
this point and one mile north-east, taking in Sweet Side and Lea
Green and down the hill into Grass Wood, an area of several
hundred acres, there is not a rood of ground without some evidence
of ancient occupation. And if we extend our observations northward
towards Coniston and Kettlewell and to the other side of the valley
above Kilnsey. we have the same repetition of prehistoric occupation.
Here at Grassington we have foundations of primitive camps,
ramparts, housesteads, rude walled enclosures, entrenchments and
burial-mounds, with their attendant remains human and otherwise,
and numerous relics in stone, bone, flint, iron, and bronze, all proclaim
this extensive site to have harboured a population which in its day
would well lay claim to be that which we now understand to be
comprehended by the term " city."
The excavations made in 1893 by my relative, Mr. Ernest E.
Speight, B.A., under the auspices of the Vorkshire Geological and
428
Polytechnic Society, now enable us to speak with some certainty as
to who were the founders of this prehistoric " city." It is not
mentioned by Ptolemy, at which some surprise may be expressed,
considering that Ilkley comes within the purview of that great
geographer. But a little reflection may possibly explain the
reason for this. Ptolemy, who was the chief authority on the
topography of Britain for a long period, flourished in the middle
of the second century, — he is supposed to have died A.D. 160 —
at which time the community at Grassington would appear to have
had but a comparatively recent existence. Ilkley on the other
hand was an old-established Brigantian station, well known to the
Romans, who directed their attacks on that place, to the ultimate
discomfiture and apparent partial withdrawal of the British natives.
Indeed it seems to me that the early history of Grassington should
be read together in the light that the evidences at Ilkley afford on
the question of the subjugation of Wharfedale at this time. Upon
the Roman occupation of Ilkley it would appear almost certain that
the greater portion of the natives withdrew to other and safer
quarters higher up the dale, leaving the Romans and such of' the
captive Britons who remained, to erect the new camp and lay the
trunk road to Aldborough, which there is the fullest evidence to
prove was accomplished not very long after the conquest by Agricola
towards the end of the first century A.D. In the meantime the
Romans had seized the valuable lead mines about Greenhow Hill,
above Grassington, of the early possession of which there is
magnificent evidence furnished by the discovery of two fine pigs of
lead, each weighing upwards of eleven stones and both of them
bearing Roman inscriptions shewing that they had been smelted in
the country of the Brigantes in the year A.D. 87, or little more than
ten years after the invasion of the district by Agricola. ( .5^ page 187.)
There can be little doubt that the extensive settlement at
Grassington was also eventually subject to the Romans, although the
natives seem to have been permitted, through the wise policy of the
propraetor and general, to continue to exercise their ancient customs.
All the remains however, at Grassington point to the fact of their
origin and continuous habitation throughout the Roman occupation,
from about the end of the first to the fourth century A.D. The
evidences for this conclusion are the rectangular form of castrametation
combined with the circular or oval plan in the forts enclosures and
housesteads, the burial-mounds with their bent-up skeletons*, the
enormous quantity of Romano-British pottery found on the site, and
* The Celtic nations were slow to adopt cremation, and despite the Roman example
they preferred the old style, just as we do now. In the famous cemetery at Aylesford
skeletons of bodies buried entire are found in proximity to cinerary urns. At Stonehenge
the interments vary in the same way. In Upper Wharfedale, so far as the discovered
interments shew, the combined forms are rare.
429
the disroverv of weapons and implements of iron and bronze, in
addition to many of stone, flint and bone, all which indicate an age
of transition.
Mr. Wright contends (vide Celt, Roman, and Saxon] that not a
hit of bronze found in this country is of a date anterior to the Roman
occupation. But does not Caesar inform us (vide Lib. v. 12) that
bronze was being imported into Britain at the time of his invasion,
55 i;.c. ? At (irassington, however, the greater proportion of the
discovered metal is iron, which ?vlovers thinks followed the introduction
of bronze. He supports this belief by the fact that in the Pentateuch
PREHISTORIC ENCLOSURE, GRASSINGTON.
bronze is mentioned forty-four times and iron only thirteen, and also
that bronze and not iron is associated with gold and silver in the
fittings of the Tabernacle. In this light the superabundance of iron
at Grassington points to a late civilization, or to a time when that
metal began to supersede the use of bronze. As before remarked,
the Vikings of the eighth and ninth centuries used no bronze.
But let us now visit one of these sites. The best group of
enclosures nearest to the town is in the High Close pasture, which
may be reached by proceeding past the Mechanics' Institute and
thence as far as West View House, opposite which an old lane leads
up to the encampment on the right. It commands a fine view. On
43°
the north side is a large depressed circular or rather oval enclosure
formed by a bank of earth and stones, upon which there is a double
row of raised stones — I have counted nearly sixty in all — not a little
suggestive of the so-called Druids' Circles. The enclosure is fifty-
four feet in diameter, and has been destroyed on the west side, a
wall having been built across it. Our engraving, from a photograph
by Mr. Abm. Lambert, shews the enclosure from the north side,
looking southwards over Grassington, with the far-famed prehistoric
burial-hill of Elbolton in the distance. The other portions of this
extensive encampment consist of a number of rectilinear enclosures,
presenting features much more of a Roman than of a Celtic character.
There is also a filled-up well, five or six feet across, at the north-
eastern or uppermost verge of this great stronghold.
The few coins hitherto found at Grassington also point to the
Roman presence in this neighbourhood from the first or second to
the fourth century A.D. The hoard found in Upper Nidderdale, on
the other side of the Wharfe watershed, range in point of date down
to about A.D. 130*, while a coin of Constantine the Great — he died
A.D. 337, — is reported by Mr. E. E. Speight as having been unearthed
near the Park Stile camp and ancient lead-workings in Grass Wood.
Mr. J. Crowther, of Grassington, has also lately informed me that
another Roman coin has been discovered within fifty yards of the
spot where Mr. Speight found the bronze Constantine. From an
excellent photograph of it by Mr. P. M. Grimshawe, I have been
enabled to read it as follows:
Ob. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P.P. [Pater patriae] IMP. [Imperator]
Rev. HONORI AVG xxx cos nil. [A.D. 145]. In the field a figure standing between
the letters S.C., [Senatus consultojf holding in the right hand a hasta and in the left a
cornucopia, or horn of plenty.
A coin of this reign was also found at Dowkabottom, above Kilnsey.
(See also page 195.)
Antoninus Pius succeeded the Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 138,
and died in 161 and during whose reign, as we gather from Pausanias,
the Brigantes rose in revolt. This coin singularly, is of the reign
following the latest of the coins found in Nidderdale, and never after
this time do Roman authors mention the Brigantes by name. I
may here add that there are similar thick walled enclosures on a
large scale, accompanied with mounds, in the ancient parish of
Urswick in Low Furness, where a bronze tripodal vessel or camp-
kettle, has been found that is conjectured to be Roman. It is
almost identical with the one found on Greenhow Hill and now in
possession of John H. Metcalfe Esq. J.P., of Pateley Bridge.
* See the author's Nidderdale, page 435, where the coins are illustrated.
f The copper coinage at Rome was under the control of the Senate, but the gold
and silver was under that of the Emperor.
43'
There is little doubt there was eventually established by the
Romans a regular communication between Ilkley and Grassington
and the camps on Addlebrough and at Hainbridge. A very old
road up dale crossed the Wharfe near Linton Church and lay
almost due north by Hardy Grange, where the direction of it is
pp 'served in the name of Scar Street, as far as Rock House, whence
its course is difficult to trace. Another communication existed
between Lancaster and the camp above Settle, whence a road seems
to have run over Malham Moor by the Street and Ebor (Heber)?
(iate through Skirethorns (where has been found quantities of
Roman-British pottery, together with much chipped flint) and so by
Grassington over Greenhow Hill to Pateley Bridge and Ripon, where
it joined the great Watling Street, three miles east of that city.
The Emperor Severus, who died at York in 211, is well known
to have visited many of the Roman camps in various parts of
Yorkshire, and those at Ilkley and Bainbridge he ordered to be
rebuilt. The fame of his exploits seems to be perpetuated in the
name of Severs Hill at Ilkley, and at Grassington Mr. Carlisle tells
me that he farms a seven-acre field adjoining the Wharfe near
Ghaistrills which bears the unaccountable name of Severs Stone.
Then again, below the High Close encampment are two pieces of
now enclosed land called High and Low Borrans (see page 411), and
close to Grass Wood is an elevated site known as Belfort. Gallion
Thorn is also the curious name of a meadow divided by what is
called Hardy Grange Croft, near the old road above mentioned.
They are both the joint property of Mrs. Thomas Nicholls, Mrs.
John Brown, and Mrs. John, daughters of the late Mr. Richard
Parker, who lived at Edge Side farm going towards Grassington
Moor.
The usual Celtic traditions of fairy-lore cling to the district,
while the dreaded "barguest" used to turn up at every lonely corner.
The fairies, however, harboured the quietest recesses of the rocks.
One haunt of these mysterious little beings may be reached by
descending from the High Close encampment and a field-path
followed into Cove Lane at Garrs End. Near here there is a large
mound, which may have also some Celtic or Anglo-Saxon association.*
On the right of the lane and a field-length distant, is the ancient
Fairy Hole, a low opening in the limestone which can only properly
be entered by such tiny sprites as the fairies. Ordinary mortals
* Gar is A.-S. for spear (see Ramsay's Foundations of England, page 169, Girrs is
also A.-S. for grass (meadow). In its Celtic relationship Gars, or ghars may be one of
the names of the old sun-god Apollo, the most common being maponnos and grannos,
in old Welsh, mapon, boy or male-child. Grannos is probably to be referred to the
same origin as the Sanskrit verb ghar} to glow; burn or shine; the name also appears
in the Irish grainne, originally a dawn-goddess or a moon-goddess. See Rhys' Hibbert
Lectures, 146, 510, &c. See also page .234.
432
must descend to an access on all fours.* Some yards away is the
Cove Hole, a long wedge-shaped cave, twelve feet high and forty
feet through to the far side. It is dry now, but there is no doubt it
has been formed by the action of running water, as the old channel
can be traced upwards from the further extremity of it. The writer
remembers many years ago visiting this quiet spot for the first
time during the twilight of a late autumn evening. With thoughts
of ancient fairy-lore flitting through his mind he penetrated the
deepening gloom of the cavern when in the dim light of the opening
at the far end, the gaunt and almost complete skeleton of a horse
suddenly appeared before him. His first impulse was that the fairies
must be playing their little tricks, but on secondary consideration it
was evident that some mischievous wights of larger growth had
dragged the bleached frame of bones to the far opening of the cave
intending no doubt to startle human intruders.
Another peculiarly Celtic tradition prevailed here down to quite
recent days, in fact as long as the local lead mines continued to be used,
(and they have been worked from near the birth-time of Christianity,)
the strange belief was current. Both native and Cornish miners were
employed at Grassington and both classes seem to have been imbued
with the same notion, namely if any unusual sound was heard in the
mines they believed it to be a supernatural warning of pending
disaster, and nothing would induce the men to continue working
unless special precautions were forthwith taken for their safety. The
noises were said to proceed from some invisible beings called
Knockers, who were invariably heard making their mysterious rap,
tap, just before any accident occurred.
At one time also probably nearly every house had a horse-shoe
hung up on one or more of its doors, as a protection against the
wiles of wisemen and witches, a belief that is also characteristically
Celtic in its origin. On the summit of Ingleborough there were a
number of horse-shoe shaped foundations of ancient British huts,
which I have described in my Craven Highlands (page 239). Stones
with holes through them were employed for the same purpose as the
horse-shoes, and are no doubt akin to the primitive hammer-stones
and celts, mentioned in the lays of the Sagas.f I may furthermore
mention a paper contributed to the Antiquary,\ by my relative Mr.
Ernert E.Speight, on "Celtic Numerals in Upper Wharfedale " in
which he shews how the old language of the Britons has survived in
* "Fairy pipes" used to be found about Cove Hole and Fairy Hole, examples of
such pipes (dating from 1600 to 1729), are figured by Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt in the
Reliquary, Vol. 3, (1862-3). Raleigh is thought to have introduced tobacco into
England on his return from America in 1586, and in the old Chetham Hospital,
Manchester, the first 'quiet pipe' of it is said to have been smoked. But some kind of
weed seems to have been smoked in this country long before Raleigh's time.
| See the author's Richmviidshiie^ page 292. J November 1893.
433
thi.s district to our own time, as sheep-scoring numbers or as counting
out formula in child-sanies. I'.v inquiry amongst the older inhabitants
of (irassington Mr. Speight discovered six variants, which lie has
represented by the system of phonetics advocated by Dr. Henry Sweet.*
To these interesting evidences of Celtic belonging I may add
the occurrence of a distinctly Roman custom, which prevailed in the
district down to. the present century. On the occasions of chartered
fairs or great annual gatherings at such places for example as
Kmbsay, Kilnsey, and Appletrewick, where one inn normally sufficed
for the needs of village and traveller, it was the practice to make
temporary use of certain private houses for the entertainment of the
extra incoming of visitors at these times. A special permit or license,
however, was necessary and the holder of such privilege was obliged
to hang a branch of thorn, ash, ivy, or holly-bush over the door of
his house as an indication that it was an open hostelry. This is
undoubtedly a survival of the ancient Roman practice of proclaiming
the habitat of a tavern, whence the saying I'inuin rcndibilc hedera non
f$t c/>//s, or as our venerable proverb saith, "good wine needs no
bush," which it is scarcely necessary to add, means that a good
article needs no canvassing. The Roman bush was most commonly
of ivy, as that plant was dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine.
Sometimes such inn-signs were painted on wood or in stone relief, as
have been found among the ruins of Pompeii. Larwood and Hotten
mention the custom as lately prevalent, in various English counties,
and it is also evidenced on the well-known Bayeux tapestry worked
by the court ladies of that doughty William, whose armed myrmidons
in the eleventh century, wrought such havoc on the fair estates of
Upper Wharfedale.
During the great national rejoicing on the occasion of the relict of Mali-king
alter a seven months siege, in May, 1900, the inhabitants ul (irassington were more
than ordinarily demonstrative in their loyally, partly from the fart that the family ol tin-
late Mr. Kdwin Speight (the writer's cousin), father of the above Mr. Krnest Speight,
had resided at Mali-king previous to their return to ( irassington in 1897. A bonfire
was lighted in the Market 1'larc and a torch-light procession was formed, while a band
ol music played all the patriotic airs, making a long halt before the house called
"Matt-king-," now occupied by Mrs. Speight and her family. Mr. Kdwin Speight,
up to the time of his death at Malt-king in August, iSi/i, took a prominent interest in
the political crises which culminated in the Transvaal War. Not very long before In-
died, at the early age of 49, he was appointed chairman of a meeting attended by tin-
bankers, trailers, and all the principal men of the district, to consider the state of affairs
in that disturbed part of the country, and he was likewise chosen to interview one of
(he native Chiefs. While in business at Bradford, he had always a great liking for the
scenery and antiquities of ( irassington, and his home at Mafeking was called
' (irassington House." In geography ami history and all athletic pastimes Mr.
Speight took the keenest interest. He was a Fellow of the Royal ( ieographical
Society, and when in Bradford was some time President of the Browning- Society,
also member of the Bradford Athenaeum Club, and for some years was Captain of the
Saltaire Cricket Club.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
GRAX-I.M.ION P.-wr AND PKKSKNT.
["he displacement ot Christianitv (irassington the last stronghold of Celtic
independence Kxtcnt of cultivation at the Conquest (iarsington in Oxford-hire
Manorial hi-torv The Plumptons The Old Hall, a notable house— Architectural
description Ancient local families ( irassington Beacon Meeting of Yorkshire
naturalists \ Paradise ol wild-flowers Beautiful scenery Our Lady's \\V1I
(Ihaistrills Preseiit aspects of the town Proposed light-railway Old customs l.m.il
dissent and effects of the Reformation.
<ss_^ e-!^f;4 ^ tne 'ast chapter I have dealt with Celtic Grassington,
J5^j| llj^j1.' and to continue the story in detail through the Anglo-
Saxon and Norse occupation forward to the Norman
Conquest would occupy as many more pages. This
part of our subject need not, however, be dilated upon.
On the Roman evacuation there are good reasons for supposing that
the Celts kept their ground here until the Saxon invasion and
eventual conquest. Dr. Green maintains that native Christianity
utterly disappeared, for when later missionaries found their way into
the country there is no record of the existence of a single Christian.
The whole country was heathen, he says, a land where homestead
and boundary, and the very days of the week, bore the names of
new gods who had displaced Christ.* In parts of Strathclyde,
however, we know that war was waged between Saxon and Celt as
late as about the year 600, and that not until the year 616 \\as
Ceretic, the British King expelled from the old Christian province of
Elmete by Edwin, the first Christian King of a united Northumbria.
But this was a political rather than a religious crisis. The Annalfs
Cambria record the death of Ceretic in the year of his downfall, 616,
and there is so much correspondence between these old Welsh annals
and the records of Nennius that the identity of this Ceretic can
hardly be questioned.
It is moreover highly probable that as the Rev. Dr. Purey-Cust.
Dean of York, has pointed out the last stand of the Elmete Britons
for their independence was made at Grassington. f After this time it
* Sfaking of England page 144.
t Dr. Purey-Cust contends there are no Saxon place-names in ' burgh,' ' borough '
and ' bury ' in Elmete, though I do not see how such a fact, if proved, can assist in a
solution of the extent or delimitation of Elmete. Otley and Hurley are shewn to be in
Elmete, and in Domesday Hurley appears as " Burghelai " ; likewise on Grassington
Moor, a mile beyond Spring House, in the heart of Elmete, is the place called
"Yarnbury," where is a large circular tumulus, which I believe has not yet been
disturbed.
436
may be taken for granted that as a distinct race they disappear.
The old sites and belongings are abandoned, and new habitations,
laws, manners and customs are introduced in their places. No trace
of the body of Celtic customs which form the Welsh law can be
detected in the purely Teutonic institutes, which formed the law of
the English settlers.* Their speech, methods and usages were quite
different and form the ground work of our language and institutions
to-day. I have little doubt for example that the present market-
square and main street is built upon the same site and plan as the
original Anglo-Saxon town, which as I have before observed rarely
followed upon that of the old borrans or pre-existing Celtic settlements.
I have already pointed out the greater extent of arable land in
cultivation at Grassington than there was at Linton, although the
latter was made the capital of the parish at the Norman Conquest.
This fact affords some proof of the importance of Grassington before
the church at Linton was built. In Domesday it is recorded that
Gamelbar was deprived of his three carucates of land in Ghersintone
then held by the King, and there were also in Ghersintone three
carucates which had been given to the Norman Tyson. There is, I
may say, an ancient parish and village of Garsington, three miles
south-west of Wheatley in Oxfordshire, which occupies a much-
wooded, high and irregular site, commanding fine views of the
surrounding country, a position not unlike our VVharfedale Grassington.
From this Oxfordshire Garsington a good view may be had of the
Whittenham Hills, where is the Sinodum of the Romans. In old
documents our VVharfedale township is often written Garsington,
Gersington, with or without the second "g." Locally it is pronounced
Gerston, which comes very near the Anglo-Saxon gters-tun, a grass
enclosure, a meadow , the word tun primarily coming from the
Gothic tains, Scand. tetnn, Germ, zaun, a fence or hedge formed of
twigs. Originally it meant a place rudely fortified with stakes, and
was applied to single farm-steadings and manors. f
Grassington, as I have said, was originally in two manors, one
of them in 1086 held by the king and the other by Gilbert Tyson.
Both were eventually merged in the great Percy Fee. This included
in Craven Linton, Grassington, Threshfield, Coniston, Arncliffe,
Litton, Kettlewell with the hamlet of Stanerbotton, Buckden and
Langstrothdale, Long Preston, Halton West, Wigglesworth, Settle
with the hamlets of Claytop and Lodge, Giggleswick with the hamlet
of Stackhouse, Rathmel with the hamlets of Winstal and Cowside,
the two Stainforths and Kirkby Malham. In addition William de
Percy obtained at the Conquest a number of other manors, including
* Making of England p. 140.
f See Blackie's Place Naiws p. 192. Greasborougfi, near Kotherham, is in
Domesday Gersebroc and Gfrsebuig,
437
Ilkley, (lishurn, Hellilield, Glusburn, eve. In the twelfth century the
manor of ( Irassington was subfeud to the Plumptons. Peter de
Plumpton was one of the northern barons who rebelled against King
Jolin, and thereby lost his estates, but on the death of that monarch
he did homage to his son and was restored.* In the reign of Henry III.
Nigel de Plumpton, his nephew, was declared by inquisition /.///.
to have held (Irassington of William de Percy, rendering one mark
of silver per annum, a merely nominal rent, as he had owed service
to his superior lord, being bound to attend him in the wars.
It may lie noted that Sir Robert de Plumpton, who died about
1295, was tne nrst °f h's family to give up the use of the device
figured on the seals of his predecessors, namely, a man riding on a
lion crowned, adopting instead the armorial insignia of his lord
paramount, the Lord Percy, five fusils in fess, which he differenced
by having each fusil of the engrailed fess charged with an escallop
gules. The lion in its human symbolism of power and courage is of
the highest antiquity, and occurs in the oldest records of Egypt and
Assyria. Crowned, as on the two (not one as stated on page 119),
pre-Reformation bells of Leathley Church, it conveys the additional
significance of royal or the highest eminence. By the early Church
the lion, observes Sir Win. Smith, was adopted like the originally
ethnic images of the shepherd, the vine and the fish, though not
sanctioned like them by Our Lord's use of the image.
The following abstract from an award made in 1483 shews the
further descent of the manor.
Richard, by the Grace <>(' God, King of Kngland and i>f Fraunce and Lord of
Iiland, to all christen people to whom this our present writing of award shall come,
greeting'. Whereas (livers variances and discords have been niovid betwyxt claim*
Johanne late wife of William Plompton, knight, and Robert Plompton, knight, on the
one part, and John Roucliff, esquire, and Margaret his wile, John Sotehill, esquire, and
Kli/abeth his wife, cossines and heirs of the same Sir Win. Plompton, &c. on the other
parte £c. By assent, consent and agreement of the said parties, we awarde and
ordainc the premises in forme following; that is to say, that the said Margaret wife to
the said John Koucliffe, and Klizabeth wife to the same John Sotehill, shall have a
sufficient and lawful! estate of all the lordships, mannors, lands, and tenements following.
That is to say the manors of Garsington and Steeton in our shire of Yorke, with all
other lands, tenements, rents, services, and reversions within the townes ol Garsington
and Steton, and alsoe all other lands, tenements, rents, services &c. within the mannors
and townes of Chaddcsden, Sponden, Okebroke, Broughton, Wormhill, Whestone,
Tidswall, Martini-side, C'ombes, Betfeild, Hurdlowe, C'helmerton, Werdlow, Castleton,
Burgh, Newbold, Pillsley, Kdinsore, Calton, and I.eghes in our shire of Derbv; all
which manors, lands, &r. We extend to be the yearly rent of 224 marks over all charges
and reprises. And ower that, we awarde the same Sir Robert Plompton and dame
Joane Plompton, his mother, and all others having title &c. to the use of the same Sir
Robert and dame Joane, or either of them, afore the l-Va^t of St. John Baptist next
coming, shall make or cause to be made a sufficient and lawful estate of and in all the
same manors £c. to the same John Roucliffe and Margaret, John Sotehill and Klizabeth,
* But see the tine passed A.I), uu Siirtct's S»c. /'///> vol. 04, pp. 171-2) touching a
third part ol th<- manor of Grassington &c., then held by Peter de IMumpton.
438
lawfully gotten ; and for defaut of such issue the remaynder thereof to the right heires
of the said Sir Wm. Plompton, in full satisfaction of 224 marks by yeare over all charges
and reprises, be recover, fine, or feoffment, or otherwise, as the council of the same
Margaret and Elizabeth shall advise, and be thought reasonable by Sir William Husse,
Kt., our Chief Justice, and Sir Guy Fairfax, one of our Justices of our Bench, at proper
costs of J. R. and M., J. S. and E. discharged of all grantes and statutes made by the
same Robert or dame Johanna, feffe or feffies to the use of them or either of them, or by
anie feffments made by the same Sir Wm. Plompton, whereunto the said Sir Robert or
dame Johanna were privy &c. In witnesse whereof we have sined this our present
award with our owne hand, and the same with our privie signet, the 16 day of the
month of September, the first yeare of our reine.
The original award is copied in the Coucher Book of Sir
Edward Plumpton and is of considerable length, and deals in a
similar manner with other properties of the family. In 1501 another
suit was brought by Sir Robert Plumpton against Sir John Roucliff
and his wife Margaret, and Elizabeth Sotehill, widow, for the recovery
of the manors of Grassington and Steeton, and litigation went on for
some time. The property changed hands several times as appears
by the fines. Eventually by the marriage of the heiress of Roucliffe
with Sir Ingram Clifford, a moiety of the manor of Grassington
passed to this family, and the other moiety which had belonged to
the heiress of Sotehills was sold to Henry, Earl of Cumberland.
The whole ma-nor a short time afterwards became part of the Cliffords'
fee, and descended to the noble house of Cavendish. It may be
added that George the buccaneering Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland,
who died in 1605 mortgaged all the tenements in the township to the
respective tenants and afterwards sold the equity of redemption for
the most part to the same persons , and this, says Whitaker, is the
origin of all the titles to estates within Grassington.* The principal
landowners at present are the trustees of Linton Hospital and
the families of Hebden, Folds, Bowden, Midgley, Eddy, Lambert,
Stockdale, Rathmell, Blake, and Calvert. The last mentioned owns
the old Hall.
The 1 3th century Hall or manor-house of the Plumptons is
happily still standing, at all events in part, having escaped that
universal destruction, which in the name of "improvement" has
exterminated almost every domestic erection of pre-Reformation age.
But the old manor-house at Grassington has long stood apart from
the frequented highways of the world ; being situated in a remote
country parish where the lords of the manor have for centuries been
non-resident. It is a pleasure, indeed it is no common advantage to
come upon a house which retains such interesting features, and
though they do not appear ever to have been described, merit more
than passing notice. There are of course domestic buildings in
Germany, notably in Nuremberg, still standing which were built in
the nth and i2th centuries, but a house that bears any visible
* See also Coll. Top. et Gen. Pt xxiii (1839) page 307.
439
evidences of 131)1 century date, like the Old Hall at Grassington, is
indeed rare in England, and extremely so in Yorkshire.
Few houses of this period I may say were built without being
fortified, and a state license to crenellate was necessary before such
a mansion could be built. There is no record among the Crown
licenses for the erection of such a house at Grassington, nor have I
found any evidences about the erection of a chapel here, for which a
special license was also necessary. Sir Robert Plumpton obtained
about the year 1280 a license to establish a chapel in his manor-house
at Nessfield (see page 267) but there is no record of one at Grassington.
His chief residence was the old fortified manor-house known as
Plumpton Towers, near Knaresbro,' which had a chapel attached,
and was pulled down about 1760. It is illustrated in my history of
Nidderdale.
This Sir Robert Plumpton, who died in 1296, was a man of
considerable distinction in English affairs in the prosperous days of
Edward I. He was a wealthy man, and a great builder and "restorer
of breaches/' and some features about Grassington Hall are
apparently of his time. The house would seem to have been built
for his occasional residence, being tenanted by his parker or forester,
who was responsible for the safe keeping of the game, then plentiful
on the estate. Sir Robert in 1280 obtained a charter of free warren
within his manor of Grassington (see page 267), likewise he had
"ranted the liberty to hold a weekly market on Friday and a three
days' fair, namely on the vigil, feast, and morrow of the feast of St.
Michael. He had likewise assize of bread and beer. Consequent
upon the abuses of the royal privileges which occurred during
Edward's absence in the Holv Land, previously alluded to, Sir
Robert was summoned to shew by what authority he exercised these
powers within his manor of Grassington &c. He produced the royal
charters setting out the privileges that had been granted to him and
thus established his right to enjoy them as heretofore. At this time, I
may add, much of the land in Grassington was held by bondage tenure.
No doubt the existing Hall occupies the site of a Norman house,
pulled down when the lodge was rebuilt in the thirteenth century.
Additions and alterations were made to it in the sixteenth century.
It now embraces a centre with wings. Locally the centre portion
is believed to have been a chapel, and was originally open to the
slates. This is the oldest part, which is entered on the south by a
small pointed doorway set in a wall thirty inches thick, the doorway
itself being only a yard wide at the springing of the arch and six feet
four inches high to the apex of the arch. The lower storey has a
Jacobean mullioned window of five lights, above which are two
windows, each of two lights conjoined by a quatrefoil opening at the
apex. The windows are transomed and glazed, with casement. In
churches transoms rarely occur in windows before the Perpendicular
440
period, although in domestic buildings they are found even so early
as the thirteenth or even twelfth century. Towards the end of the
thirteenth century the transoms most frequently occur about half-way
between the sill and the level of the springing of the arch of the
window-head, but in aftertimes the transoms are usually placed
half-way between the sill and the top of the arched heads of the
windows. Above these interesting lights, shewn on the plate prefixed
to this chapter, is a triangular recess with pointed head, which has
seemingly been for a statue. The whole structure is ingeniously
fashioned out of three stones.
The north side of this floor has a plain double lancet light, the
external head of which is formed out of a single stone. The jambs
are crude and composed of long and short stones placed on end ; the
whole outside being flush with the wall, like the early Decorated
windows at Linton and Burnsall churches. The wall of this chamber
is three-quarters of a yard thick, the internal splay of the window being
exactly 27 inches. The east wing is built of good ashlar masonry,
well lighted with characteristic mullion-windows, carried in three tiers
on the south front. In the thirteenth century fire-places were usually
built in most of the rooms of the better houses, except the halls, and
the shafts or pots were round, and in the fourteenth century octagonal.
When they were made on the first floor the chimneys were usually
built so far into the thickness of the wall that it was necessary to
corbel them out at the back, a style which is found in some old
houses in the Dales down to the eighteenth century.
About sixty years ago the old hall had got into a bad state of
repair. It was then in the occupation of several tenants, and was
restored by the owner, Mr. Joseph Mason, whose grand-nephew, Mr.
Rhodes Calvert, of Bradford, is now the owner, and Dr. Wilks the
tenant.* Mr. Calvert tells me that some forty years ago he used
often to hear the old hall spoken of as in some manner connected
with the monks of Fountains Abbey. It may possibly have been
resorted to during the occasions of their great annual sheep-washings
at Kilnsey. The Plumptons were very friendly with the heads of
that great land-owning monastery.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century it would appear that
the manor was farmed by the Scarborough family of Glusburn, and
in 1378 John de Scardeburgh was apparently living at the Hall, being
the heaviest taxed person in the township (see also page 268). At
this time there were nearly thirty families living at Grassington, of
which two were tailors, one a weaver, and another a shoemaker.
Adam Currour (see page 247) apparently kept the local pub !f
* Sixty or seventy years ago Dr. Thomas Hutchinson, of Grassington, was the only
medical man for a very wide district in Upper Wharfedale.
f The earliest reference to a Currer outside the Poll Tax of 2nd Richard II. I have
met with, occurs in a citation datad 1433, wherein one John Currour ot Draughton,
yeoman, owes £200 to the Abbot of Fountains. See page 341.
441
Anntlu-r Adam bore the surname Ga\vke,no doubt a survival of the old
Xor>e name for a cuckoo. At least one Grassington family had settled
at the lord's manor of Plumpton, as appears by the same Poll Tax.
In 1513 Grassington contributed four men, namely John Clerk, John
Wilkinson, George Knolle, and Leonard Hibbetson, to the force raised
by Lord ClitTord against the Scots, who were routed at Flodden Field.
About this time there was living at Grassington a notable family
named Frankland, one of whom, Robert Frankland, who died in 1504,
bequeathed legacies to the canons of Bolton towards the work then
in progress at the Abbey, and also to works at Ripon. John
Frankland died at Grassington in 1544, and was buried in "the holy
mould of St. Michael of Lynton." A Wm. Frankland, who died in
1574, left ^3 to the poor of Hazelwood-with-Storiths, and he was no
doubt of the family who held the lordship of Blubberhouses at this
period. Their descendants were the Franklands of Thirkleby, co.
York. Sir Wm. Frankland, Bart., of Thirkleby, who was born in
1638, married a daughter of Henry Bellasis, eldest son of Lord
Fauconberg, and his son, Sir Thomas Frankland, Bart., married
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Russell, Bart., of Chippenham, co.
Cambridge, and granddaughter of the redoubtable Oliver Cromwell.*
In the manuscript compotus of Francis, Earl of Cumberland, for
1610, preserved at Bolton Abbey, I find mention of the wood called
Ashegr' and a meadow called Byggesber Close, and New Park. At
this time one Robert Smythe was keeper of the cattle within Grass
Wood.f During the rupture with France at the beginning of last
century, considerable attention was paid to the old beacon-hills and
to the repair and proper maintenance of the signals. An old official
map, bearing date 1803 (see page 256) shews the position of the
beacons then in service in our western dales, and by the lines drawn
from one to another furnishes the direction in which the signal fires
were communicated. It is interesting to note that Grassington
appears on this plan. Commencing with Ingleborough, the light
from that mountain was sent on to the site known as Beacon Copy,
at Long Preston, and from thence to Grindleton Fell and Pinhaw,
above Elslack ; thence to Beamsley Beacon, Otley Chevin, Scarcroft
Moor, Almes Cliff and Brimham Crag to Grassington, &c. There
are nearly thirty beacons indicated on the plan.
* See the Rev. Thomas Parkinson's Jsiys and Leaves of the Forest.
\ It was in Grass Wood that the young- man Thomas Lee, generally known as
Tom I .cc, was tuing in chains after his atrocious murder of Dr. Petty, of Grassington.
The story of tin- crime has been often told, and need not be repeated here, although I
have never seen any date attached to it. I may *ay, however, that it was on Monday,
July 25th, 1768, that the murderer was executed at the Tyburn without Micklegate
Bar, York. He was 25 years of age. There is a small headstone in Linton Churchyard
marked " T. P.," which Mr. Marker says covers the grave of the murdered man, but I
may point out that the doctor's full name was Richard Petty, a common surname in the
original form of Petyt or Pettyt, in the district.
442
The scenery of the district, as I have said, teems with interest,
and however familiar one may be with the locality, there is always
something new to be discovered, some new site, rock, shell or plant
it may be, or some new view hitherto unobserved. The present
writer's recollections of Grassington extent over a period of forty
years, and here as a child staying in the neighbourhood with relatives
he must have first learned to love the quiet beauty of natural scenery,
and to feel something of the influence of its attendant charms of
lichen-grey rocks, woodland glades, and varied wild-flowers.
Although Grassington boasts many things of historic importance,
and many things of interest to the student of Nature's varied stores,
yet the crown of pride is surely in her wild-flowers. Few districts in
England claim the variety of botanical treasures that is to be found
within a mile radius of this little upland town. The unrivalled Grass
Wood — may it long continue to deserve that title ! — has yielded a
very large number of such plants as prefer a limestone soil, and its
beetling crags and loneliest recesses have proved a secure habitat for
several rare species. These include such gems as the angular-
stemmed Solomon's Seal ( ' Polygonatiim officinale), Herb Paris, Lily-of-
the- Valley (which flourishes on the magnesian-limestone forty miles
lower down Wharfedale, but not on the intermediate grits and shale),
Globe-flower, Jacob's Ladder, Wintergreen ( Pyrola miner), Stone
Bramble (Rubus saxatalis), Burnet-leaved Rose (Rosa spinosissima).
In insects, too, the woods and their vicinity are extremely prolific,
many rare species, including the beautiful Northern Brown Butterfly
( Erebia blandina), which here reaches the southernmost extension of
its range in Britain. It is found in that paradise of butterflies, the
neighbourhood of Grange.
The members of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union visited the
district a few years ago, a large and interesting gathering which
included the late Alderman Davis, F.G.S. &c., mayor of Halifax, a
gentleman whom Yorkshire will always honor for the thoroughness
and excellence of his scientific work; Mr. R. H. Tiddeman, M.A., of
H.M. Geological Surrey, the Rev. Wm. Fowler, M.A., Messrs. John
Farrah, Wm. Foggitt, H. T. Soppitt, Chas. Brownridge, F.G.S.,
Benj. Holgate, F.G.S., W. D. Roebuck, F.L.S. &c., Hon. Sec., and
many another well-known scientist. Mr. J. Beanland, of Bradford,
who was also present, discovered the very rare Alpine Bistort
(Polygonum viviparum), a plant hitherto not recorded for Wharfedale.
Likewise the rare Arctic Bedstraw (Galium boreale) was also found.
A singular incident happened on this occasion, which may be
mentioned as a not unimportant local natural history record. The
naturalists after tea assembled al fresco in the grounds of the hotel,
while the recorders of sections read out the discoveries of the
day, amongst them being a long list of birds and a few noteworthy
mammalia, including a couple of species of bats. Almost at the
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444
moment that these were announced a little dark winged animal fell
from a branch of an overhanging tree on to the table before which
the chairman was seated. The semi-dormant creature at once
recovered and was about to fly off, but after an amusing attempt to
capture it, the little thing was secured and it proved to be the rare
whiskered bat (Vesperugo mystacimis), which added another notable
species to the numerous records of the day! The present writer was
a witness of this occurrence, which created no little amusement
among the assembled party.
One of the nicest walks in the neighbourhood is from Grassington
Bridge and up the river side to Ghaistrills Force. Just beyond the
west and low side of the bridge is a once famous holy-spring called
Our Lady's Well. I am told that former generations of dalesfolk
used to resort to it for its special virtues in strengthening weak eyes.
At one time, too, those who were in ill-luck and thought themselves
under the influence of evil spirits, resorted to this well for purification.
Like the holy-wells I have mentioned at Burnsall, it lies within a
yard or two of the river.
About Ghaistrills the scenery is very charming, especially when
viewed under the calm and soothing influence of a fine summer's eve.
Then the play of light and shade on the large masses of dark moss-
covered rock, standing out in the bed of the river and contrasting
with the foam-white spray of the broken waters, present a beautiful
sight, while perchance the melodious notes of some thrush or
blackbird is heard enjoying its evening song above that even of the
resounding break of the river. Few places are better calculated to
inspire one with a solemn reverence for the majesty of Nature,
surrounded by so much that is retired and peaceful.
The path may be followed under the suspension-bridge in front of
the Swiss-like position of Netherside Hall (see page 419), with its high
gables and roof-balcony reared high up on the crag above the magnifi-
cent stretch of forest that descends precipitously to the edge of the
river. The old Grassington "poet," JohnBroughton, alludes to this part
of our walk in the following lines, which are interesting for their facts :
I onward pass'd, fann'd by a pleasant breeze,
And looking' round on the new-planted trees,
A grand extensive structure then appears
Of Gothic kind, the work of many years.
It seemed on all around to make a mock,
Built on the summit of a rugged rock ;
With numerous narrow windows straight and tall,
In niches placed along a massive wall,
And on the roof a numerous simple train
Of chimnies, placed the smoke for to retain,
For by their number it did plain appear,
As many rooms as weeks are in the year.*
* Broughton's little volume is now exceedingly scarce. It was printed for the
author at Skipton in 1828.
446
The straggling village, or rather town in the historic sense, of
Grassington, does not at the present day provide much material for
the student of domestic architecture, saving the old hall, already
described. The plan of the town, however, is doubtless much the
same as it was in Norman centuries, with its little market-square,
and winding main street, reminding one in some of its parts of the
narrow thoroughfares still existing in Normandy and Brittany, where
it is possible from the projecting upper-chambers to shake hands
with your opposite neighbour. The oldest dated house seems to be
Chapman's temperance hotel, which has carved upon its door-head
the initials and date, S.A.P. 1694. Carlisle's house (their home for
many generations) at the Town Head is an older building of
substantial and picturesque appearance, consisting of a projecting
centre and two wings. Considerable improvements are intended to
be made at Town End , arrangements having, I understand, been
made with Messrs. Metcalfe, of Pateley Bridge, to remove the entire
block of buildings at the corner, and to add the ground to the
roadway. The Commercial hotel will be rebuilt. In view of the
growing popularity of Grassington as a visitors' resort, and that it is
intended to construct a light railway up the dale from Skipton, these
much-needed alterations are anticipated with particular satisfaction.*
There is a very useful Mechanics' Institute, a neat building
erected in 1885 at the sole charge of the late Duke of Devonshire.
It is well provided with books and papers and the collection of relics
obtained from the neighbouring earthworks are also preserved here.
The town moreover, is well provided with hotels, boarding and
private lodging-houses which are well patronized in the season, and
when the steam-horse is brought to Grassington no doubt the traffic
will be greatly increased. At present all communication is made by
post-mail and 'bus service with the nearest railway station at Skipton,
a distance of ten miles from Grassington. The mail leaves Skipton
at 6 a.m. and Grassington at 8-45 a.m., returning in the evening, in
addition to which there are public 'buses running both mornings and
afternoons daily, including one or two early morning communications
on Sundays. It is a beautiful and interesting drive, and there are
many persons who are of opinion that the railway will not improve
upon it. There can, however, be no doubt the railway will prove
a great convenience, and that large numbers of day and even half-
day trippers will visit the locality in the summer season. Such
an intrusion of the steam-whistle upon the wonted quietude of this
delightful neighbourhood will no doubt be resented by those who
have learnt to appreciate the soothing retirement of these " shepherd
solitudes," which for ages have known no other sound than the cry
of moor-fowl, the bleating of mountain-sheep, the songs of birds and
waterfalls and the rushing of streams among the hills.
":;" The first sod of the new line was cut by Mr. Morrison, M.P. on June 7th, 1900.
447
I have already in the chapter on Linton mentioned some curious
old customs and beliefs belonging to this neighbourhood, and many
others might be mentioned. But these are almost entirely of the
past. The old annual Feast, too, is not kept up with the same bustle
and joyous anticipations as formerly. The event happens to fall
rather late in the year, when the weather is not generally of the best,
and well do I remember hearing as a boy an old rhyme on the subject,
now perhaps forgotten, which ran something like this :
I've oft heeard trll o' Girston Ft •<
An' lain wod I gang thither,
But just it is at Michaelmas time
Haith co\vd and stormy weather.
But despite "cold and stormy weather," it was always well attended
by friends and relatives from far and near.
In common with most of these dale-villages religious dissent
got a firm hold at Grassington after the itinerant preachings of Fox,
Heywood, Wesley, and their followers. The native mind was roused
from its wonted lethargy by the fervent oratory of these men, and
new and independent sects soon began to be formed. This
"division" of the people in the worship of God naturally led to
rivalry in the efforts to sustain the propriety and doctrinal force of
each particular sect. Nor can it be said in the dales to have
been always attended with the happiest results. But the clouds of
adversity have surely passed over and left us with a bright sky. In the
old days however sectarian jealousy told sorely upon the individual
as it did in the body politic, leading to all manner of discussion and
differences, followed by still further discussion and the introduction
of new sects. At Grassington the various denominations had been
served principally by ministers from Skipton, but by-and-bye they
formed separate congregations with their own ministers. The
Wesleyan Methodists were established in 1809, the Independents in
1811, and the Primitive Methodists some years later. At one time
too there was a sect at Grassington who called themselves " Nazarine
Cariates," but they do not appear to have had a very long existence.
Their leading idea was that public worship should take place in
barns, because the Saviour was born in one. I have been told that
these poor followers of Christ had to put up with a good deal of
opposition and even contumely by those who differed with them.
But happily in these days of improved education and understanding,
each may follow with joy and equanimity the particular form of
worship he likes best.
There can, however ; be no doubt that the Reformation greatly
unsettled the public mind on questions of religion. The reform was
needed, but it drove, as has been said, a wedge well into the heart
of the nation, " which at once and for all divided the rich from the
poor, and established the distinction which still exists between the
classes and the masses."
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ON THE HIGH MOORS.
A tramp into Nidderdale — An old road — Natural history attractions — On the moors with
the late Mr. H. T. Soppitt — A search for the bear-berry — An extensive prospect —
Ancient hill-names — Discovery of a brass celt— Greenhow Hill — The highest
church in Yorkshire — Geology of Greenhow — The Bradford Waterworks tunnel.
TRAMP over the moors from Grassington into Upper
Nidderdale, or vice versa, is a most enjoyable experience
to those who are capable of "roughing it" across the
exposed and in great part trackless extent of wiry
heather and bent-grown fell that separates the two
beautiful valleys. Some restriction, I understand, has been placed
on the free wandering over these fine grouse-stocked moors, but there
is a very old road connecting Grassington with Ramsgill and the
upper part of Nidderdale, used probably by Briton and Roman down
through the days of the monasteries to our own times. For about
three miles on the Grassington side of the hill the road is a cartway,
and then disappears in an ordinary track, in places swampy in wet
weather, but still well defined. The last time I traversed it there
were short posts in the ground indicating the route.
These high moors are rich in incident to the lover of old time
lore, while to the naturalist they provide an ever-interesting and very
varied fund of enjoyment. I have pleasant recollections of a long
ramble taken many years ago with the late well-known naturalist
Mr. Henry T. Soppitt, over these wide moors. Mr. Soppitt was an
enthusiastic botanist, particularly in the much too neglected department
of mycology, in which he was an expert and enjoyed an almost
universal reputation. Every spare moment was devoted to his
favorite pursuits, and these were followed with an ardour and
enthusiasm which I greatly fear tended to shorten his days. Bird,
insect, flower, even the most insignificant moss, weed or fungus,
engaged his close attention with a fondness and interest which none
but the true lover of Nature can adequately comprehend. On the
morning we left Middlesmoor he had been up at four o'clock in order
to vertify a record in the neighbourhood of Goyden Pot. After
breakfast we set out together and explored How Stean, with its rich
and varied plant-life, afterwards ascending the hill and crossing the
wild, open moor, where our eyes were gladdened by the sight of acres
of the silvery cotton-grass ; the bright rays of the afternoon sun
lighting up the great expanse of it like a sea of silver. Our object,
however, was to confirm if possible, the stated occurrence of the rare
449
bear-berry (Arctostaphylos Uva-uni) on Meugher (1,886 feet) or the
Great Wham (1,750 feet), but in this exploit we were disappointed.
A close scrutiny of the ground failed to yield any trace of it, nor am
I aware that its reputed occurrence in this locality has ever been
confirmed.*
The prospect over the landscape around here is very wild and
impressive, especially when viewed under thundery skies, with
sunlight parting the dark masses of cloud. As soon as you get to
the edge of the fell there is a grand outlook over Wharfedale, and
one which will surprise even those who are accustomed to viewing
mountain scenery. Many rare birds are occasionally to be met with
on these moors, and since the Grimwith reservoir was made the pretty
black-crowned dotterel has bred in the district.
Some of the old names on this high land bear witness to the
occupation of Celt, or Saxon or Dane. For example Wham may be
the A.-S. wem, a hollow, cognate with the Celtic uaimh, but in A.-S.
is also the word /m><i//i, meaning a corner. Henstones Band is the
long ridge that runs some distance to the south of the Meugher beck,
and forms a natural boundary to the township. This has probably
nothing to do with the Celt. //<?//, old, as the entire word should be
interpreted in one tongue. It therefore suggests the A.-S. Jicdn,
high and sheti, a stone, that is high stony ridge. Blackie cannot
be correct in deriving Henley-on-Thames from the Celtic hen, old,
and presumably the A.-S. ley, a field or enclosure.! Such a combination
of alien tongues is quite inconsistent with what we know of the
composition of place-names by alien races. Meugher (as spelled on
the Ordnance Map) is no doubt the A.-S. muga, a stack, a heap, a
very appropriate epithet to apply to this stack-like eminence. From
a distance the hill stands out like a great hay-mow or heap above
the surrounding moor. West of Meugher is Black Edge, already
explained.^ It stands as usual on the township boundary which
skirts the north-west side of Priest Tarn. To the south of Meugher
and Henstone Band are Henless Beck and Rather Beck, the latter
making a short and rapid descent from Rather Standard to the
Gateup Gill Beck. There is no doubt this is a derivative from the
.S'n- I. lira--' .Stidtic.-* in \hidfniali' ( icSyi) page U.J. I /'luce \anus, page 104.
;]. The only in-tancc in \VharfedaIe I have found where the term Black doe* not
occur upon an old boundary is on the north-western verge of Roman Ilkley (sec page
^45). A- a possible explanation of this deviation I may mention that there was a
statute among- the ancient Romans called the Law ot Finis, which ordained that an
indefinite space (never less than live feet in width) was to lie left unappropriated
between adjoining- estates belonging to different owners. This was left wa-te and
consecrated to the God Terminus, and where a stone altar was erected and where
annually certain rites were performed, giving permanence to the law that thus was to
remain no-man's land, or Jack's Land, a.s we sometimes hear these unappropriated
wa-tes described. There is a Jack Land on the high ground at Greenhow Hill, close
to the Grassington boundary — See Dr. H. Macmillan in Sunday at Home for 1896.
45°
A.-S. hrathe (pron. rather) meaning swift, quick. Other equally
interesting instances might be cited, shewing how little corrupted
from their original utterance some of these names remain, even after
the lapse of a thousand years.
The moors along this elevated watershed between Wharfe and
Xidd have been occupied as I have already proved by Briton and
Roman, who worked the local lead mines more than 1800 years ago.
Dr. Whitaker mentions having in his possession (about a century
ago), a brass (bronze)? celt found on Grassington Moor. Within the
last thirty or forty years, Grassington was little known but as a
village of lead-miners, the mines being scattered along the hills
for a distance of about three miles. Whitaker, as well as those who
have copied him, mention that there are no evidences of the working
of these mines before the reign of James I. I may however state that
lead in considerable quantities was obtained from the Greenhow
mines shortly after the grant to Sir Richard Gresham in the reign of
Henry VIII. They were first drained by a day-level commenced in
1796 and completed in 1830 at a cost of ^30,000. For twenty or
thirty years subsequently they were worked very profitably, but owing
to the lack of railway conveniences and to the competitive importation
of foreign lead, most of the Yorkshire mines have had to be closed.*
Half a century ago, however, when the Grassington mines were in full
work, they produced from 700 to 1,000 tons of refined lead annually,
besides some amount of calomel. Evidences of these old lead-
workings are still apparent on various parts of the moors. The
mining rights, I may add, belong to the Duke of Devonshire.
The highroad from Grassington to Pateley Bridge runs through
the village of Greenhow Hill (1,317 feet) by the famous Stump Cross
caverns and the old Moorcock inn. The little church of St. Mary (a
chapel-of-ease to Pateley Bridge) is believed to be the highest church
(1,280 feet) in Yorkshire. Harwood Church, on the Durham side of
the Tees, is probably the highest situated church in England, while the
highest village is probably Colecleugh (1,725 feet) in Northumberland.
The hill at Greenhow consists of a great mass of scar limestone
over a hundred fathoms thick, enclosed by shales and grit, which
have been penetrated in order to carry the pipes from the new water
supply in Upper Nidderdale to the city of Bradford. The tunnel is
6,204 yards long and has bten driven from three shafts, one of them
being 420 feet deep. For several years some millions of gallons of
water per day had to be pumped from these shafts, so copious being
the outflow that measures of this kind were necessary and required
constant vigilance in order to prevent flooding and consequent
submergence of the machinery. The difficulties, however, have been
very skilfully managed, the water having been carried under the
* See the author's Romantic Richmondshire, pages 240, &c. .
invert bv pipes from eighteen inches to twenty-one inches in diameter,
and conveyed to the north and south ends of the tunnel. Tlv
is traversed by VLMH.S of lead ore, and formerly when the Sunside
Mining Company had a lease of the land there were extensive
smelting-works at Cockhill, and almost the whole population was
i oinposed of native and Cornish miners.
The s< enerj nmnd about Greenhow Hill is very wild and grand,
anil the walk or drive to or from Grasxington, in spite of the long
ascent on the 1'atelev Bridge side of the hill, cannot fail in tine
weather to be greatly enjoyed. Many of my readers are no doubt
familiar with Mr. Rudyard Kipling's story, On Greenhow Hill, a
story that, does not particularly flatter the hard-working Methodist
body, yet it is full of Mr. Kipling's racy humour. Its famous author
is not unacquainted with the road I am describing, and his family
connections with this neighbourhood are locally very well known.
His grandfather, the Rev. Joseph Kipling, was a Wesleyan minister
in the Skipton Circuit, and he was also stationed some time at
Pateley Bridge. His wife, the novelist's grandmother, says Mr.
Kdmund Lee, of Bradford, was " one of the sweetest women that ever
lived ; " and the happy couple, so long as they remained in Craven,
had the greatest respect of all who knew them.
Greenhow has in all likelihood been green and cultivated land
since Celtic times. The name is doubtless derived from the Anglo-
Saxon girtic (green) hew (hill). These " hows " were in pre-Conquest
times, and even later, frequently the places of assembly of the town
or district gcinot. Claro, or Clare How, which I mentioned on page
43, was the moot-hill of its wapentake , similarly Leicestershire has
Sparkinho, and Norfolk its Greenho and Grimshoe. There is also a
Greenhow in Cleveland. There is also, by the way a " Greenahill ''
near Wortley, in Leeds parish, an old beacon-signal, used in the
time of the threatened invasion of Napoleon at the end of the
iSth century.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
ROMANTIC HKIIDKN.
Picturesque aspects Name ut Hebden Thor's \\'cll Manorial history -'J'hc family
nt Hebden Roman Catholicism in Upper \Vharfedale A Hebdeu recussanl
I .oral improvements -Former appearance of the village An ancient drying-kiln
'I'lic old manor-house Old natives Anecdote Some old homesteads The church
Romantic scenerv Ancient field-names.
ESIDE the little mountain torrent that sometimes sweeps
with relentless fury from the high fells it traverses,
stands the romantic village of Hebden. A delightfully-
situated little spot it is, and to those who are in need
of a quiet, restful holiday, few places in our dales can
vie with it in the charm of its thorough isolation and rusticity. The
village however, is only some two or three miles from Linton and
Burnsall, and a short two miles by a good road from Grassington.
No doubt the place derives its name from the A.-S. hebban, to raise,
to elevate, in consequence of the elevated situation of the little dene
or valley in which it reposes.* In Domesday it is written Hebedene,
and although nearer to Burnsall than it is to Linton, it has from the
time of the Norman Conquest always been, together with the
contiguous township of Grassington, parcel of the parish of Linton.
Celt, Saxon, Dane, and Roman have all had a hand in the
making of Hebden. Mention has already been made of the so-called
Thor's Well, near Hebden, which may be a form of Thora (see page
388) of the old Norse sagas,f or it may be a relic of Thor worship
in Wharfedale. Wells retaining their pagan dedications are however
extremely rare. Stories of the old Thunder-god survive in many an
English fiction, such for example as Jack the Giant Killer: while
legends of Christian saints, as St. Peter, may be traced to the worship
of the same Norse Thor. At Guisborough in Yorkshire, for example,
the fishermen on St. Peter's Day, dressed their boats and masts and
sprinkled their bows with a good liquor, a custom no doubt proceeding
from the old Viking habit of smearing their war-ships with human
* There are many words in common use in the dales which are not understood by
South country people, beinjf the survivals of names that would have been perfectly
intellig-eable to our Aniflo-Saxoii or Danish forefathers. Hut a singular exception to the
prevalence ot Anglo-Saxon diction obtained at Hebden until quite recent times,
inasmuch as even yet an old native of Hebden has difficulty in uttering the ///. which
is peculiar to the Saxon tongue. Instead of pronouncing the words this, them, through,
thrush, thunder, &c., he will say dis, dem, fmi/^/i, fntsh, fmnier, &c.
t There is a Thora Gill on Fountains Fell. .SVr the author's Craven //i«-/iftinds,
pagfe 359.
454
blood before setting out on an expedition, by way of offering to the
god of war and victory. By the way, I have not learnt what was
the motive for the dedication of the church at Hebden to St. Peter.
Before the Conquest the manor had been held by the Saxon
Dringel who was permitted to continue as mesne lord of the Arches
family, to whom this manor was conveyed by the Conqueror.
Shortly afterwards it became merged in the fee of Mowbray, whose
possessions extended over a great part of the adjoining lands of
Upper Nidderdale. Whitaker cites a charter to which he attaches
the date about A.D. 1120, whereby the manor of Hebden was granted
by Roger de Mowbray to Uchtred fitz Dolphin and his heirs, the
bounds whereof are described as extending from Eskedensike as far
as Loutandstan and Stanwath, and Brokeshougill as far as Bradden-
ford in Gatehopbec near to the Holme-keld &r. He says that the
grantee was son of a Gospatric de Rigton in Knaresbro' Forest, but
no authority is given for this statement. Air. Ellis is of opinion that
this is a mistake. Uchtred was son of Dolphin son of Gospatric,
whom Simeon of Durham says married a daughter of Dolphin, son
of Thorfin,* and the pedigree given in the Thoresby Society's
publications, gives this Dolphin three sons, Torphin, Swayn and
Ughtred, but Mr. Ellis thinks that Ughtred was second not third son
of Dolphin, and the ancestor of the De Hebdens to whom Mowbray
gave the manor of Hebden after 1166, and not about 1120.
These Hebdens were people of position and held the manor of
Hebden for a long period, until by division of the estates already
explained in the account of Burnsall, the property changed hands.
Descendants of the family held lands under Fountains Abbey, one of
whom John Hebden had a house with certain lands, &c., of the
monks at Caldstanfald in the parish of Ripon, for which he paid at
the Dissolution 26s. 8d. yearly rent. According to the King's
Commissioners' Certificate of the value of the properties belonging to
this monastery in 1535, their possessions in Hebden were worth
yearly 8s. Anciently there was a good deal of corn grown in the
neighbourhood, where now all is moor and pasture. In the 131)1
century the monks obtained from Simon de Hebden a grant of free
passage over all his land here, except corn and meadow, as well for
sheep, cattle and carriages, in going or returning from their great
annual shearing at Kilnsey.
Fifty years after the monasteries were dissolved there were not
many who stuck to the old faith in Upper Wharfedale. In 1604
there are a few returned for Burnsall, but after the close of the Civil
War Roman Catholicism, in name at least, seems to have been almost
completely obliterated. Repressive measures had been taken from
time to time ever since the Reformation, and in the reign of Charles II.
* See the author's Old Bingley, page 74.
455
further suspicions were aroused of Romanist disloyalty which led
in \(>'}S to a proclamation being issued commanding local Justices to
order the pettv constables to apprehend the bodies of all and any
such recussants and to make search in such houses as were reputed
to be occupied by them. They were- also to bring the bodies of such
recussants before the nearest J.I', to lind sureties tor good behaviour.
But the only person I can find in Upper \Vharfedale at this time who
declared himself a Popish recussant was Francis Ward of Hebden,
although there were a number of other Catholic families at Ingleton,
Rathmell, Skipton and Hroughton. In 1691 it was ordered that the
houses of Popish owners above the value of ^5 should be sold and
that all fire-arms, dirks, swords, &c., be taken from them and used in
his Majesty's service. Again the Jacobite rising in 1715 led to a
searching enquiry into the location and value of all Catholic property.
Yorkshire in this return heads the list in possessing a larger amount
of landed property held by Roman Catholics than any other county
in the kingdom. The total annual income is about ^50,000, of
which nearly ^20,000 is returned for the West Riding. Many
Craven yeomen appear in these returns.
The land about Hebden is now held by various owners, but
principally by the trustees of the late Rev. Canon Chamberlain, M.A.,
who was vicar of Limber Magna, Lincolnshire.
Great improvements have taken place in the general aspects of
the village during the past fifty years. Few can remember now the
old tottering bridge in the Beck bottom, which was removed when
the present county bridge was put up and the road raised. Old
inhabitants tell me that when Mr. Bramley ran the cotton mill some
sixty years ago, the moorlands were then unenclosed, and Hebden at
that time was a very primitive looking place. There was only one
"Bethel," several old unplastered cottages, with thatched roofs and
rough cobble walls, besides a couple of inns, while the ancient school-
house on the village green, looked more like a common mistal than
a place of intellectual light. Xo one knows when the old building
was erected, but the age of its mossy outer walls probably harked
back to the Reformation, and before the days when chimm-vs were
in general use. The well-seasoned oaken rafters were as black with
smoke as the most remote Highland cottar's shieling at the present
day. When the building was pulled down to make way for the
present neat school, some rude and evidently very old fire-places
were discovered. They were of such a character as to leave no
doubt that they had served in the ancient manor drying-kiln for
parching the grain of the whole township preparatory to its being
ground. The last surviving link in fact connecting our time and
people with those of the original Anglo-Saxon settlers, who lived and
dwelled in common, united in food, worship, and estate.
The ancient manor-house of the Hebdens, which had stood on
456
the site from the Norman Conquest, was pulled down early this
century. The farm house called Hebden Hall has taken its place,
and has been the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Metcalfe for more
than half-a-century. This aged couple it may be noted celebrated
their "diamond wedding" in September last year, and though they
themselves boast no pride of heritage, yet Mrs. Metcalfe modestly
claims that her aunt Elizabeth Hammond was housekeeper to King
William and Queen Adelaide at Windsor Castle, now about eighty
years ago. And some are still proud at Hebden of this local
connection in the service of a former sovereign of Old England !
Many a story of worth and valour and of " fortunes made in
business" might be recounted of bygone Hebdenites did space permit.
Of old "characters," too, and past events which make up the life
of a village in the olden time, much might be written. There are
few now, for instance, who will remember old Henry Baines, a staunch
Wesleyan or Primitive, I forget which. Poor old Henry, he had to
seek relief in the end from the Parish authorities, and when they
came to arrange the allowance, he wagged his tongue loud and long
in support of his contention that he had kept off parish relief "till he
wor ommost ready to dea!" They asked him to sign his name in the
book provided for the purpose. "Nay" he says, "I nivver put my
neeam o' paper in all my deeas." "Well then," came the request,
"you must make a cross, Henry." "A cross," ejaculated the old
man, " Aw'll noan turn Roman Catholic fur all t'brass i;t wurrld. Aw'll
dea furst ! "
Looking at the place now in its outward appearance there is not
much remaining to bespeak the antiquity of the little upland village.
Well-built houses and shops, a church, school, Wesleyan chapel, and
good inn, have usurped the generally pre-Reformation aspect the
place so lately wore. There are however, one or two tolerably
ancient domiciles still standing which carry our thoughts back to the
time when the Stuarts were monarchs of our realm. One of these
stands to the east of the church and has a blocked doorway inscribed
"R. A. R., 1674, DEVS ET MEVS;" the latter part of the inscription
being an evident attempt to Latinize the Scriptural phrase, "God
even my God." The house was an old home of the Rathmell family,
or Ra'mell as locally pronounced, and was built by Robert Rathmell
and his wife Agnes, whose names I find among the Yorkshire
recussants in 1665-6. The house is now the property, by inheritance,
of Dr. Bailey of Canterbury.
The church (St. Peter's) was erected sixty years ago and is a neat
structure in the Early English style. It includes a nave, chancel, and
west tower with one bell, and pleasant is the sound of it on bright
Sabbath days, when the single peal is heard perchance a long way off
among the brown moors and distant farms, calling the dalesfolk to
worship their Lord, the Giver and Maker of all !
458
The romantic surroundings of Hebden provide unending interest,
whether we climb up to the high moors for the sake of the wide views,
or study the rocks and faults, or content ourselves with the placid
instruction of the botanical wonders of the district, and they are not a
few,* or we may scramble as far as the picturesque Scala Gill waterfall,
a name again that suggests old Norse homesteads in the vicinity,
before the Norman William "wasted" the rich meadows of our dales.
The walk along the water side as far as Hebden Mill is also very
enjoyable, and here you may cross the river by the new suspension
bridge, which gives quite a feature to the scenery at this point.
Thence you may reach Burnsall, passing the picturesque Loup Scar
and the ancient holy-wells previously described.
The Anglo-Celts were the strongest element here, doubtless even
long after the Conquest. Story, tradition, and place-name help to
confirm this. I may mention for example, the little mountain-beck
which flows through Hebden and in one part of its course traverses a
low-lying pasture called Nows Field, a curious name, and one very rarely
met with, but there is little doubt that its root is to be found in the
A.S. niwe, a piece of flat or low land subject to submergence. The
old French form is uoe, noue, and occurs in Les Noues, Neuilly, and
in the Latin as Noesiacum. The German nass, wet, may be traced to
it. There is a Hell Beck at Grassington, a Hell Hole near Trailer's
Gill (see page 384) and a Hell Field high above the eastern bank of
Hebden Beck, but whether these places have any association with his
Satanic Majesty, I cannot say. At Tunstall, in Norfolk, there is a
pool called Hell Hole which the natives believe to be connected with
the "bottomless pit." But hell in Anglo-Saxon may signify simply
"a grave or tomb;" while helle according to Mr. Kemble's Glossary
to the Anglo-Saxon poems on Beowulf, the first English epic, means
clear high, or eminent. There is also at Hebden a Sill Field, which
may be the Cymric Celtic till, Latin cella, a cell, a burying-ground,
or church ; in Celtic topography, Kil or Kel, as Kilbride the cell or
church of St. Bridget. No one seems to know how the name
originated, and it may be merely an abbreviation of the personal
name Sylvester. I may, however, add that in Bradford there was a
very old bridge at one of the exits of the town, called Sillbridge,
which in ancient deeds appears as Syllbrigge. Wogan is also the
name of a field at High Garnshaw, and this may be a corrupt form
of the old family name of Wigan. But wbgan in Anglo-Saxon means
to woo or marry, and the spot may possibly have been a place
appointed for the celebration of marriages even in the far-off days of
the Anglo-Saxons.
* Mr. W. M. Rankin B.Sc. informs me that he has lately found here the very rare
Alpine pennycress (Thlaspi alpestri var. occitanum) which has been found at one or two
places in Craven and near Llanwrst in Wales,
CHAPTER XL.
ROUND ABOUT CONISTON.
Romantic scenery — Cliaprl House -A grang-e and chapel of Fountains Abbey — The
Tennant family— The village of Coniston — Meaning- of Coniston — Antiquity of the
church Its present aspects Old houses — Prehistoric evidences — Discoveries in
Coniston Pastures Local hill-names.
E are now in a, thoroughly romantic part of Wharfedale,
where the hills bounding the valley rise into miniature
mountains, and the great grey limestone scars so
characteristic of Craven, come prominently into view.
Walking or driving " up dale " from Grassington, our
road runs through the beautiful Grass Woods, upon emerging from
which we get a grand expansive view of the dale, with the historic
Chapel House away to the west.
This is an old home and property of the Tennant family, which
had belonged to Fountains Abbey and was purchased by John
Tennant (not Jeffery Tennant, as stated by Whitaker), of Bordley,
on Malham Moor, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The monks
had a small cell or chapel here, and a grange with lands which they
let to farm. At the Dissolution they were in the holding of Cisseil
Layland, and included " lands, meadows, pastures, commons and
wastes," paying a yearly rental of £4. 35. 4d. The property was
acquired by the Yorke family, lords of the Forest of Nidderdale and
of the manor of Appletrewick in the ancient parish of Burnsall, in
which Chapel House is also situated. By deed dated 29th March,
1572, Chapel House, and the appurtenant property was sold to John
Tennant, then living there, by Peter Yorke and Dame Anne, his
wife. The pedigrees it may be noted name the wife of Peter Yorke,
as Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Wm. Ingleby, of Ripley Castle, Kt. by
whom he left a family of four sons. The second son, Thomas
Yorke, was living at Percival Hall, near Appletrewick, early in the
1 7th century, a fact I omitted to notice in the account of that old
mansion.
Both the Tennants and Leylands had been in the service of
Fountains Abbey from an early period and their names are also
plentiful in the local poll-tax lists for 1378. In an unpublished
document at the Record Office, dated 8th James I. (1610), I find
the name of Richard Tennant of Kettlewell in Craven, who surrenders
to the King two messuages and lands in Cold Coniston, let at yearly
rentals of 22S. 8d. and 155. nfd. respectively, parcel of the lordship
of Middleham within the Archdeaconry of Richmond. A Richard
460
Tennant was instituted vicar of Kettlewell in 1632, and the name of
Richard Tennant also appears as rector of a mediety of the church
of Burnsall in 1618. He died in 1653. In Hey wood's Register (1644-
1702), there is an entry of a Mr. Gleadston, lecturer at Bradford,
" married old Mr. Tennant's daughter of Burnsay in Craven, Dec.
7th, 1681.'' Descendants of this old Craven family are still resident
in Upper Wharfedale. The annexed pedigree, not before published,
shews the descent to the present time of the Tennants, of Chapel
House, from John Tennant of Bordley, who was living in 1584, or
four years before the fires on the neighbouring peak of Sharpha,
near Rilston, signalled the coming of the Armada.
CHAPEL HOUSE, KILNSEY.
Generation after generation of this family continued at Chapel
House until John Tennant of the Middle Temple, who died
childless in 1790, devised the estate to his brother Robert, of Chapel
House, who also died without issue in 1794, when the family for
some time ceased to reside there. On the death of Robert Tennant
the estate was devised to his great-nephew, John Tennant Stansfield,
son of Jonathan Stansfield, of Idle, Co. York, on condition that he
took the name and arms of Tennant. This John Tennant Stansfield
Tennant, who was born in 1790, married (i) his kinswoman, Rebecca
Wilson, daughter of the Rev. Henry Wilson, vicar of Otley, (see
page 69), and (2) Anne Catherine, daughter of James Shaw, of
461
Otlev. He 'lied in 1830. He was a captain in the 3rd West York
Militia and a J.P. of the West Riding. He was succeeded by his
son John Robert Tennant, of Chapel House, who on his leaving
Oxford followed in his father's footsteps and became Captain of the
3rd West York Militia, as well as J.P. and D.L. of the West Riding.
He died in 1894 when the estate passed to his* brother Robert, (issue
of the second marriage) who died in the Spring of 1900, and of
whom some account will be found on pages 86-7. Mr. Robert
Tennant was M.I', for Leeds. 1X74-1880, and he had also been a
Captain in the Yorkshire Hussars. His eldest son, John Robert
Tennant, who was horn in 1851, was Captain in the 2nd West York
Militia, and married Eleanor Ann, daughter of Col. Rolleston, of
Watnall Hall, who was some time M.P. for Co. Notts. Many of the
Tennants are buried in the ancient kirk-garth at Collision, on the
opposite bank of Wharfe to Chapel House.
The house is a large plain stone structure erected shortly before
the death of Mr. John Tennant in 1790. It is surrounded by pleasant
grounds, commanding a charming view of the valley. The present
tenant is Mr. George E. Clayton, of the old family of Clayton of
Langcliff, near Settle.
Proceeding along the country road we soon reach the ancient
and delightful little village of Coniston, wilh its May Pole reared
high upon the open green. The village, "far-famed for Whangby
cheese and bread,'' as writes John Broughton seventy years ago,
is mentioned in Domesday (A.D. 1085-6) and is there spelled
"Cunestune," which Whitaker and all his followers have corrupted
into "Conyngslun," ihus making il appear lhat this was either the
seat of a prince or thai it had "been part of the demesnes of the
Crown in Saxon times." To accept, however, the Domesday spelling,
and the local pronunciation (Cunniston) ihe name obviously signifies
nothing more than that the place was a cow-pasture or enclosure
where the catlle of the old Anglian settlers were kept. Cuna is the
genitive of the A.-S. en (cow) thus Cunestune is literally the town of
cows. The tun meant originally a place enclosed or protecled wilh
stakes, and was applied lo single farm-sleadings and manors, in
which sense tun is slill used in Iceland and toon in Scotland.*
The township has always been an appanage of the parish of
Burnsall and its ancient little church continued subservient to the
mother church of Burnsall until 1876, when it was constituted a
chapel-of-ease to the then formed ecclesiastical parish of Rilston.
The services since that time have been taken by the rectors of
Rilston, the present popular rector being the Rev. Chas. Henry
Lowe, M.A.
The church (St. Mary's) is a very ancient structure, in a rude
Si-t- Klaekk-'s Place \HHICX, page 193.
462
Norman style, and was restored in keeping with the character of the
fabric about fifty years ago. In a neighbourhood so eminently Celtic
as that of Grassington, one naturally turns for any evidence of Celtic
influence in a building of the antiquity that this is shewn to be.
The Scottic church, as I have before pointed out, remained a power
in Wharfedale long after the adoption of the canons of the Romish
Church in the seventh century, nor did its influence die out until
the Normans were firmly settled in the land. Some interesting
comparisons might be made between the original design of the fabric
at Coniston and the church I have described at Leathley, for I have
little doubt that in those buildings in our district retaining much of
their early character, as at Leathley and Weston, the structural basis
of them is Celtic. Most of the smaller English churches, as Mr.
Micklethwaite has clearly proved, were built on a plan which is
purely Scottish, all through the Saxon period and even beyond it.
At Coniston it should be noted that there does not appear ever
to have been a chancel, until the restoration in 1846. In all
probability the Norman church had a square presbytery, which may
have been pulled down after it had been suffered to become ruinous,
in order to avoid the expense of keeping it in repair, as not infrequently
happened, especially during the period following upon the Reformation.
A conspicuous feature in the church at Coniston is the massive square
pier having simple abaci and circular arches, (chamfered) combined
with one octagonal pier supporting a pointed arch. The nave
windows are deeply splayed. The east windows are of modern
stained glass; one being a memorial to the Tennant family, the gift
of J. R. Tennant, Esq., of Kildwick Hall (1853), and another placed
to the memory of three children of the Rev. Wm. Bury, of Chapel
House, and rector of Burnsall, who died in 1875. A neat, new
pulpit has lately been added, the gift of Mrs. Richard Procter and
Mrs. William Procter, in memory of their father and mother. It is of
unpolished oak with carved panels, on a dark red stone base. The
porch in the Norman style, is modern. From the churchyard, I must
not forget to add, there is a lovely view.
Little outside the church remains to proclaim the antiquity of
the village. The oldest houses do not date any further back than
the revival of building after the disturbed era of the Civil War. The
oldest I have noted bears the initials and date, R.C. 1657. Another
is inscribed, I.T. 1697, while a third bears the date 1705. There are
however in the district ample evidences of human occupation far
beyond historic times. My relative, Mr. Ernest E. Speight, B.A.,
has discovered many traces of prehistoric burial within the area
known as Coniston Pastures. One of the tumuli he opened in 1892
was about fifty yards in circumference and some two or three feet
high, and contained the skeleton of a man laid on its left side, with
the legs bent up towards the chin in the usual Celtic fashion.
463
Along with the body was an iron knife, four inches in
toother with an iron pin, and a fragment of a bone handle with an
iron rivet. In the same barrow there was a small burial-urn, rudely
marked on the rim with a zig-zag ornament. This discovery is of
particular interest as combining both body-burial and evidences of
cremation, the ancient Celts, as I have before pointed out, being
slow to adopt the Roman idea of cremation.
On the fell side to the north-east of Coniston there is an abrupt
edge called Hill Castle Scar, but there do not appear to be any
traditions connected with the place, although traces of primitive
housesteads are abundant on these high lands. Also on the north
side of Scot Gate Lane, ascending out of Coniston eastwards, is
Wassa Hill, which may have something to do with the wet nature of
the surrounding land, the Anglo-Saxon waes, meaning water, modern
German wasser. High above towers Coniston Pie (noo feet) and
the surrounding scenery is very wild and grand.
CHAPTER XLI.
KILNSEY.
Prehistoric habitations— Dowkabottom Cave— Discoveries of prehistoric animal and
human remains — Relics of prehistoric spinning and weaving — Name and meaning
of Kilnsey — Local possessions of Fountains Abbey — Grange destroyed by the
Scots — Annual sheep-shearing at Kilnsey — Rights of way for ox-wains &c. — The
old Hall and the Wade family — Lady Anne Clifford at Kilnsey— Kilnsey Crag —
Local inns— Kilnsey Angling Club.
VERY long chapter might be written about this
wonderfully-interesting locality, especially if our
discussions embraced every detail from the time ot
the first evidences of its occupation. P'or on the wild
moors high above the stupendous cliff which shelters
the little village from rude blasts, there exist traces of human
dwellings that were occupied centuries before the earliest written
record of the spot. They lie scattered about usually in the most
sheltered places on the moors, and a very good collection of these
antique housesteads may be seen close beside the old British trackway
by Skirethorns to Malham.
Then there is the famous bone-cave called Dowkabottom on the
the moor, i^ miles above Kilnsey, situated at an elevation of 1,280
feet above the sea. The place for a long time has been a large
rabbit-warren and unless the keeper can be seen, it is rather difficult to
find. It is best to take a farm-lad or some one who knows the way
with you from Kilnsey, and permission should be obtained at the
inn. No dogs must be taken. Formerly the cave was very richly
encrusted with natural spar and there were some exceedingly fine
stalactites suspended from its sides and roof, which formed a variety
of strange and beautiful resemblances. When the good and
far-travelled Bishop Pococke visited the place last century he was
enraptured with the sight and described the cavern as " Antiparos
in miniature," and excepting that cave he added, " I have never
seen its equal." Year by year, however, numbers of people visit
the spot, and this grand hall of natural crystal has been gradually
shorn of its ancient splendour.
Before the cave was first explored a number of objects had
from time to time been picked up in the vicinity, including a bronze
bracelet of Roman-Celtic design. The finds in the cave itself,
uncovered from beneath a thick bed of ancient stalagmite, included
the complete skeleton of a red-deer of abnormal size, the antlers
being large and well-preserved , likewise bones of wolf, boar, and
primitive dog. There was also found part of a horn of megaceros or
•tr'5
Irish deer, an animal coexistent with the rhinoceros and mammoth,
hut whether it can be said to have actually roamed these fells in a
wild state or that the horn was imported liy the first immigrants
after the Ice Age, is a matter of uncertainty. There is a great
probability that both the semi-tropical rhinoceros and hippopotamus,
whose remains are found in our dale caverns, survived the Ice Age,
and that they moved northwards upon the retreat of the
glaciers, roaming over our highlands with the bison, mammoth,
and hy;ena down even perhaps to the Brit-Welsh occupation of
Strathclyde. The reindeer we know long survived the icy terrors
of the glacier-reign in Craven, and in parts of Scotland lived on to
historic times.
The Dowkabottom cave, like the old bear-den at Elbolton I
have described was also a burial-place in Celtic times, and a very
interesting discovery was made in it of this age. A little grave had
been dug out of the stalagmite by the loving hands of some old
British chief or chieftainess, in which was deposited the crouched-up
skeleton of a very small infant. The grave was not more than
twelve inches in length and not so much in width, and here the tiny
creature had lain for nigh two thousand years until the curiosity of
modern science brought it to observation.
In addition to these interesting discoveries the cave yielded an
abundance of other objects, including portions of skulls of two
human individuals, several bone and bronze brooches, bronze pins,
one being plated with silver, portions of flint implements and pottery,
and a couple of excellent spindle-whorls. The old Britons were well
acquainted with the arts of spinning and weaving, though few were
clad in woven garments until historic times. The celebrated ruler
Boadicea Queen of the Iceni, we are informed in the last encounters
with the Romans, wore a checked costume of white and blue,
doubtless a linen fabric with a mixed white and woad-blue warp,
intersected by weft of the same hues and material. But woven
fabrics were not then in general use, the bulk of the people wearing
the dressed skins of animals and in the summer season they went
quite naked. A few years ago while excavating the famous Celtic
lake-dwelling at (ilastonbury, the framework of a prehistoric loom
was discovered along with brushwood and wattlework forming the
foundation. Still further evidence of the antiquity of the craft in this
country was forthcoming in the discovery of about forty horn and
bone carding-combs, most of them in excellent preservation. The
age of these relics of ancient British spinning and weaving may be
approximately fixed between the years A.I), too and 400. Our
Kilnsey spindle-whorls are doubtless of a similar age, as amongst
the remains were found several bronze coins ranging from the time
of Trajan (A.D. 117) to Tacitus (A.D. 275). A very fine Antoninus
Pius of the third consulate (A.U. 142), was also found.
466
Descending to historic times we observe Kilnsey spelled in
Domesday Chileseie, and one may marvel how the name came to be
written in the present manner, with 'n' intercalated. Locally the
name is pronounced " Kilsey." If this be the A.-S. die, cold (the ' c '
and ' ch ' of Domesday being pronounced as ' k,') coupled with the
A.-S. ed, running-water, a stream, it is surprising how the majestic
Crag, which forms the most conspicuous feature about Kilnsey,
should have yielded to some insignificant cold spring or stream as a
means to define and identify the location and character of the place.
In bestowing names of places the ancients were guided chiefly by
the most striking object the place possessed, and there can be no
hesitation in pointing to Kilnsey Crag as the paramount feature of
this place. It is one of the natural wonders of Yorkshire. Can
this prefix 'chil' be any form of the adjective 'high.' Baines in the
History of Lancashire (1893 e^- page 580) suggests that chil-uestre-uic
of Domesday means High Urswick, and Mr. Finlayson, of Manchester,
in some papers contributed to the Ulverston Advertiser in 1862,
argues strongly for this latter conjecture, regarding the prefix chil as
signifying " high " ; the entire word implying the " high place of the
bay of Urse:'* There appears, however, to be no such word as chil
in any Teutonic vocabulary which means " high." The suffix in
Chileseie undoubtedly means water. It is of course, as I have before
remarked, inconsistent with the principles of place-name construction
to compound a British adjective with an Anglo-Saxon substantive
(or vice versa], or one might be led away with the idea that in the
prefix ' chil ' appears the Celtic kil, a church or primitive chapel.
The ancient chapel at Chapel House was no doubt serviceable
when the bridge was broken down (a common occurrence in former
times)f and the river too swollen to admit of a passage between
Kilnsey and the old church at Coniston. On the occasions too, of
the great annual washing and shearing of sheep at Kilnsey, belonging
to the monks of Fountains, the chapel here would be resorted to
by the throng of people in the service of the Abbey, who were lodged
in the locality during these important gatherings. The monks of
Fountains were in possession of their Kilnsey estate before the
erection of Bolton Priory in 1154-5. The estate consisted of about
400 acres of land given to them by William Fitz Duncan, nephew of
David, King of Scotland, and Adeliza de Rumelli, his wife. Thurstin
de Arches also gave the monks all his land here, lying between
Kilnsey and Arncliffe. William, son of Fulco de Threshfeld likewise
gave to them the whole of his lands from the head of the culture
called Carlecroft, as specified in the boundaries, which grant was
confirmed by Adam, son of William de Threshfeld.
* See also North Lonsdale Mag. Vol. II. p. 143.
f The bridge was swept down by the great flood of 1674 (see page 69) when it was
rebuilt and again wrecked some ten years later.
467
It would appear that the Grange at Kiinsey was erected not
vcrv Ion- a ft IT the earliest grant to the monastery in the twelfth
century, as William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle (who died in i 195)
gave to tin- monks forty cart loads of dead wood towards the erection
of the house, which apparently was then constructed almost entirely
of wood. In a License to the Abbot and Convent of Fountains to
convert "certain of their granges ruined by the Scots (after
Bannockburn) into vills and to devise them to secular persons''* the
granges of Kilnsey, Bradley (near Huddersfield) and Thorp (near
Ripon) are included. This was the initiation of that policy which
arose from the ashes of the feudal system, of letting the land to
respectable tenants whose thriftiness enabled them frequently to
become purchasers of their farms after the dissolution of monasteries,
and to the inauguration of that independent middle-class which
ultimately proved to be the strength and sinew of the State. When
the Abbey of Fountains was dissolved, a very large part of its
possessions was granted 32nd Henry VIII. (1540) to Sir Richard
Gresham, of London, Kt. These included all the monks' lands,
messuages, mills, woods, rents, services, privileges and hereditaments
&c. in Kilnsey, Bordley, Fountains Fell, Greenfell Cosh Moors,
Halton Gill Moors, Foxhope, Heselden, and Litton Moors, besides
immense tracts in Upper Nidderdale and Ribblesdale &c. The
territory belonging to this wealthy monastery was of vast extent,
reaching from the Abbey westwards to Malham Moors and the head
of Wharfedale, a distance, in a direct line, of nearly thirty mil
Like Mesha, King of Moab, the old monks were great sheep-
masters, whose speciality was wool-growing, and their wool grown on
the Yorkshire fells was the best and finest in Europe, and was eagerly
purchased by merchants on the Continent. The sight of the great
annual sheep-washing at Kilnsey, must have been like the
annual corn-mowing at Bolton (see page 301) one of the -busiest, most
important, and most picturesque events of the time in Yorkshire. In
the famous dispute with Master Richard Tempest in 1579 about the
tithe of wool accruing from lands on Malham Moor, we get some
interesting side-lights on local ways in the busy time of the monastery,
and old Ned Hodgson, of Kilnsey, then in his eighty-third year, tells
us that he knew the Abbots of Fountains for full thirty years apace,
before the dissolution of the House. Every year, he says, the flocks of
sheep, which were depastured on Fountains Fell were brought from
thence to Kilnsey, where they were clipped and the wool was then
carried away in wains to Fountains Abbey, and never was any tithe
paid for sheep pasturing on the monks' Fells there. The monks had
had a right of way granted to them over Grassington and Hebden
Moors by the respective lords of those manors, the Plumptons
* The original is at Studk-y Royal.
468
particularly being very friendly with the Abbots and their men when
they came into the district to hold their courts and enjoy a few days'
hunting in the neighbourhood. The Plumptons kept their own
minstrel and in the old bursar's accounts of the middle of the fifteenth
century, when Abbot Greenwell ruled the estate, there appears an
entry of Sd. paid to Sir Wm. Plumpton's minstrel for entertaining the
brethren of the monastery. At this time wheat was selling in Craven
at 4s. a quarter, barley at 3*. and oats for is 4d. a quarter. The
Abbot at the same time was using toilet soap at 4d. per pound, equal
to about 55. of our money. In 1535 the Abbots' estate at Kilnsey
was returned as worth by the year of ^14 iys. id., equal to about
THE OLD HALL, KILNSEY.
£150 of present value. The manor of Kilnsey, as before related,
passed to the family of Yorke, 6th Edward VI., and from them the
Chapel House estate was purchased by the Tennants.
The old Hall or manor-house at Kilnsey, depicted on the
plate, is now used for farm purposes. It has been a good house of
three stories, with plain mullion-windows and characteristic classic
gable-finials. It was originally enclosed within a courtyard and
approached through two large archways. But the whole of these are
gone. Over one of the entrances are the initials and date C.W. 1648,
no doubt indicating the builder of the house, Christopher Wade,
whose son Cuthbert Wade, was a Captain in the Royalist forces
during the Civil War. He had to compound for his estates and was
469
£222. He was thrice married (i)t<> Agnes, daughter of Matthew
Brackin, of Litton (PLinton) ; (2) to Dorothy, daughter of Francis
Malham, of Elslack, (3) to Frances, daughter of William Bilbye of
Killerhy and Micklethwaite Orange, near Wetherby. An extended
pedigree of this old Dale family has not been compiled, and it would
be interesting to trace its descent. A family of Wade was living at
Plumtree Banks, in the parish of Addingham in the iyth century,
and near the south wall of Kildwick Church, in Airedale, there is a
stone inscribed to the memory of Thomas Wade, of Silsden Moor, in
that neighbourhood, who "after a life of plainness, uprightness and
temperance," departed this life, February nth 1810, in the io3rd
year of his age.
The ancient homestead at Kilnsey is also interesting as one of
the houses where the celebrated Lady Anne, Countess of Pembroke,
Lady of the great Skipton fee, lodged and was entertained by Mr.
Cuthbert Wade during one of her progresses northwards to her castles
in Westmorland. She made the wild and difficult journey in 1663
when in her 74th year. The memory of the good Countess remains
indelibly impressed in the brightest annals of Craven. She was a
brave, intellectual woman, a great traveller and keen observer, while
her charity was unbounded. She held a remarkable and conspicuous
position in an age that was coarse and ill-sparing, but her high place
and bearing and the traditions of her ancient family were maintained
with a grace, character and dignity which have rarely been equalled.
Her zeal as a builder and "restorer of breaches" in church, castle,
hospital and homestead, is a matter of common history, and well
might her friend Rainbow, the learned Bishop of Carlisle, say when
in 1675 he preached her funeral sermon that she was a wise, scholarly
and honourable woman, who like the blessed Mary chose above all
things to learn the doctrine of Christ.
Kilnsey has also some other notabiiia besides the old Hall. I
have mentioned the famous Crag, whose lofty crown is suspended
threateningly above the public highway as you leave the village towards
Kettlewell. The castle-like wall of limestone (not granite as poet
Broughton wrote seventy years ago), forming what may be likened to
a succession of round-towers, is nearly 1 70 feet high to the summit
from the road, and is the inacessible haunt of numbers of martins,
jackdaws and starlings. Other birds such as the tree-pipit, black-cap
warbler and wood-wren also breed in the district, and in 1866 when
the members of the Haley Hill Literary and Scientific Society visited
Kilnsey, they found here a pied-wagtail's nest containing the very
unusual number of ten eggs. The circumstance is not explained, but
there is little doubt that two hens have laid in the same nest, and a
close inspection of the eggs would have proved this. At the top of
the- Crag some good insects have been taken, too, including Pyrausta
Ostrinalis and Larentia miaria, as well as several interesting plants.
47°
the blood-cranesbill (Geraneum sanguineum) being particularly fine
here. The sea-plantain ateo grows near the Crag. A couple of wild
goats — the Craven "chamois" — have roamed about the fells above
the Crag time out of memory, and I have heard it said they are at
least a hundred years old, but this is doubtless an exaggeration. Mr.
Inman of the Tennanfs Arms says he has known them about forty
years, but how much longer they have been there is uncertain.
Standing as the Crag does at the junction of the Skirfare valley
with the Wharfe there is little doubt but that the majestic cliff, whose
presence is created by the great Craven Fault, has been subject to the
grinding action of glaciers, which united at this point, and have been
KILNSEY CRAG.
the cause of the conspicuous rounding of the angle of the crag, seen
in the accompanying plate.
In the shadow of the old Crag stands the long-established
Tennanfs Arms, a large and comfortable hostelry with ample stabling,
kept for the last twenty years by a member of an old Dale family,
Mr. Henry Inman. There is also another good licensed house here,
the Anglers' inn, established in 1760 and for more than half-a-century
landlorded by John Inman, father of the present proprietor of the
Tennanfs Arms. In 1882 the Anglers' license was dropped by Mr.
Tennant, the owner of both houses, but some years afterwards it
was renewed, and the inn has since been improved.
Kilnsey has a very old fame for its quality as an angling resort,
and "fishermen's yarns" of big baskets and narrow escapes of still
bigger might be spun out to the length even of a small volume. I
have heard it whispered that certain crack anglers have killed as
many as 1200 trout here in a single season. But those were palmy
days before the drainage of the surrounding fields and fells acted
prejudicially on the water-supply in the river. Often in summer-time
the river runs very low, and the fishing is then not of the best.
A considerable extent of water (some ten miles) is preserved, but only
members of the Kilnsey Club are permitted to fish without char.
To non-members the fee is 55. daily. The Kilnsey Club, says Mr.
S. Milne-Milne, was formed about 1840, chiefly by a few Halifax
anglers, excellent fishermen they were, unsurpassed even now, who
had for some years previously angled in the Wharfe at Kilnsey.
The district has always been from the remotest times a favorite-
one for sport, whether we call up visions of the old Briton hunting
boar and bison, or whether in feudal times we picture the wild deer
chased by the lords of the fee, or in recent times, when crag and
scar resounded with the echo of hound and horn, and the dalesfolk
came for miles round to witness the picturesque " meets," or join in
the run. Mr. Wm. Gomersall, in his interesting little book, Hunting
in Craven, tells us that Mr. Hammond kept beagles, and hunted this
part of Craven for many years, and occasionally hunted a couple of
days at Horton, and also around Austwick or Clapham, previous to
Mr. Christopher Ingleby's harriers in that locality. Kilnsey, he says,
likewise lays claim to some years of this sport, with a spirited pack
that often made the immense Crag which projects into the dale echo
with their music, and so all along the extensive limestone ranges in
this romantic part of Wharfedale when the beagles were in full cry.
The new Upper Wharfedale Agricultural Society, which held
its first annual show at Kilnsey in September, 1897, proves that in
the hands of its capable hon. secretary, Mr. G. H. Clayton, the district
means to keep pace with the times. The horses shewn have
generally been of very good quality, while the cows in calf or milk
have more than sustained the high reputation which the district of
Upper Craven bears in this class of animal. The show of butter has
also been of an exceptionally good character, which gives promise of
much success in the future.
CHAPTER XLII.
KETTLEWELL.
Remoteness trom railways — Proposed line up Wharfedale — The charm ot isolation
Local inns and accommodation — The Great Scar-Limestone — Formation of terraces
Ancient "terraced reins" —Antiquity of local husbandry — Prehistoric evidences —
Scale Park Hunting Lodge -Name of Kettlewell — Progress ot agriculture —
Manorial history — Old families— The church — Wesleyan Chapel — Kettlewell
blacksmiths — Inns — Romantic scenery — Douk cave.
^^r^r^"^ K are now approaching the head of Wharfedale, where
in the shelter of majestic sweeps of mountain-limestone
.clothed with the sweetest herbage, stands the little
village of Kettlewell. Rural and romantic in its
environment the little place lies dreamily retired from
the great arteries of public traffic, miles away from the suggesting
hurry of railways. There are it is said more than 250 railway-
stations within a six-mile radius of St. Paul's Cathedral, London,
while within a twelve-mile radius there are computed to be nearly
400 stations. The inhabitants of this sequestered Wharfedale
village may possibly regard with no small envy a statement of this
nature, considering that they are 15 miles from the nearest railway-
platform.* A line through the dale would no doubt be a great
convenience to the farm-folk scattered among these wild mountain-
pastures, but the Company has yet to be found possessed of the
necessary enterprise to sink what would probably be required to
carry out such an undertaking, namely a capital of at least a million of
pounds sterling. The Skipton and Ilkley line (eleven miles) it may be
remarked, cost ^400,000, so that an approximate idea may be formed
of the cost of constructing a line through romantic Wharfedale, say
from Skipton to Buckden, nineteen miles. In return for this outlay a
comparison may be instituted between the actual and probable pas-
senger and goods traffic of the two lines in the course of twelve months.
Although a light railway to Grassington has reached the stage
of practical accomplishment, very little reflection will I think make it
manifest that the "solitary and beautiful Wharfedale" beyond will,
for a good many years at any rate, have to remain " solitary and
beautiful," and that the men of Kettlewelldale will have to continue
carting their fuel and goods as their forefathers have done since the
days of Hardicanute.
* It has been often stated that Kettlewell is the most remote place from a railway-
station in England. But this is not correct. The village of Fai 1< v-cum-Pitton is
nearly thirty miles from a station, and probably claims that particular distinction.
474
But I am prone to confess that from an outsiders' standpoint,
not a little of the charm of this delightful neighbourhood is due to
its perfect quietude and isolation. Once settled down here, there is
no thought of hurry or bustle ; no distracting influences break the
spell of Nature's soothing enchantment, nothing there is to mar the
contemplation of rugged scar and wide shepherded-fell that seem to
shut you out from the busy world of worry and care. Quiet,
comfortable lodgings, wholesome fare and very moderate charges,
will be found the conditions of a temporary sojourn " among the
cliffs and winding scars " of Upper Wharfedale. It has been said
that Kettlewell is " fifteen miles from a lemon," as Sidney Smith
similarly remarked of some outlandish place he once visited. But
this is doing the village an injustice. Fare even to the nicest
season's dainties may ordinarily be obtained at those inns in the
dale, specially equipped for the entertainment of visitors. Chicken
and tomatoes, salmon and cucumber, the best wines and spirits (with
a lemon if you wish) and aerated waters, may in season generally
be had for the asking.
In point of interest the scenery of the neighbourhood of
Kettlewell is not behind the most attractive parts of the dale. There
is, however, little wood; on the other hand nowhere in the dale is
the grand massive Sca.r Limestone so finely evidenced as it is here.
In the neighbourhood of Kettlewell there are nearly 800 feet thickness
of limestone visible without reaching the base. Above it lie the
Yoredale shales &c., capped by the Millstone Grits of Great Whernside,
which reaches an altitude of 2,310 feet, two or three miles east of
the town. The limestone is usually very much bleached from
weathering, which gives it a white, and in sunlight a somewhat
dazzling appearance. The rock appears weathered in continuous
terraces formed along interrupted lines of bedding, with an occasional
thin parting of clay or plate. Terraces have also in many places
been artificially formed along the acclivities in order to prevent the
thin soil, overlying the limestone, from being washed away by the
rains which sometimes sweep with deluging force down the steep
sides of the fells. When this was done the land was all open and in
common, having been parcelled out into long narrow strips, divided
by balks or terraced reins, a method of cultivation of high antiquity,
which was formerly general among all the ancient Aryan nations.
The strips were usually from five to ten yards wide, and from two
hundred to eight hundred yards long (see page 297) and they might
run horizontally along the sides of the hills, or lie straight up and
down according to the nature of the ground or the conditions under
which they were tenanted. When the land was enclosed this century,
long stone fences were erected, but the old ruins remain in many
places the silent witnesses of a bygone generation and usage. In
Palestine and under the Incas of Peru, similar terraces on the abrupt
•175
"I" the hills have been cultivated and even formed into garden-
plots after the manner of the "terraced gardens" of the early Jewish
kings.
Land has been cultivated at Kettlewell from an early period.
There was a carucate, or from 160 to 180 acres under the plough
when the Norsemen held the estate in 1066. There was probably no
settlement on the site of the present village before the invasion of
Hubba and Halfden in the ninth century. But under Whernside
and along the fells towards Collision and Grassington are very
abundant evidences, as I have already shewn, of the occupation of
the dist rut in British and Roman times. One of the most extensive
entrenched works in the North of England is to be found about two
miles east of the town, running for more than a mile through Scale
Park in the direction of Coverdale. Likewise on the fell to the
north of Kettlewell there is a spot known from time immemorial as
Borrans, which like Borrans near Linton, and the Burvvens at Elslack,
no doubt indicate a site occupied by native Celts which was
abandoned and suffered to remain in ruins when the Viking Norse
swept down the dale from Cumberland and the Isle of Man. The
word seems to be borrowed by the Irish Vikings from the Irish
boireann, signifying rocky ground, either natural or artificial, or
according to Dr. Wright's English l^ialcct Dictionary, it may have
been "a kind of fortication." A large farm-shed has been built upon
the site and is called Borrans Barn.
In the name of the well-known Scale Park, too, we have further
evidence of the Viking occupation of the district. This word Scale
being, as I have before explained, the Scand. scali, a hut or home-
stead, equivalent to the Scotch "sheal," and in the famous Leyburn
Shawl, in \Vensleydale, I have no doubt a similar meaning is implied.
The principal house at Scale Park is of high antiquity, and in 1410
was erected into a hunting seat and embattled by royal licence, for
the use of the puissant chief, Ralph Neville, the great Earl of
Westmorland.
Then if we descend to the earliest records of the name of
Kettlewell, the old warrior Viking crops up again with redoubled
force. In Domesday Book it is written Chrteluuelk, the prefix no
doubt containing the name of the original Norse settler, one Ketel, a
name that occurs twenty-five times in this ancient inquest; while
there are nearly half-a-hundred landowners of the name Ketel and
Ketil in the Icelandic Landnama Book. The suffix is probably to
be found in the Teut. wetter, Old German wila, a hamlet, as
Rothwell in Baden, anciently Rotwila.*
* See also the Saga Book of the Viking Club, 1898, pp. 110-114. Kytelwylle, in
Oxfordshire, is also mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Charters, No. 775. Vide Leo, Local
Nomenclature of the Anglo-Saxons, page 30.
476
The manor of Kettlewell was part of the great Percy Fee and
at an early date was granted to Osbert de Arches whose descendants
were long the proprietors. Wonderful progress had been made in
the extension of agriculture in this neighbourhood in the i3th
century. In the prosperous days of Edward I., instead of the
one carucate of Domesday there were then eight carucates providing
food and maintenance for the people of Kettlewell. Of these eight
carucates two were held by Elias de Knoll, or Knolles, of Robert
de Gray, and the Abbot of Coverham. The Abbot also held three
carucates of the same Robert de Gray, who was a grand-nephew of
the celebrated Walter Gray, Archbishop of York. The other three
carucates were held of the heirs of the family of Arches and they of
the heirs of Percy.
The last of the Grays of Rotherfield, died in 1387-8 when their
interest in Kettlewell descended through the Deincourts to Ralph,
Earl of Westmorland. This was apparently in 1404 as I find from
a Letter of Attorney in the Public Record Office, that in 6th Henry
VI. Richard Toppan and William Home were ordered by the said
Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, to receive from the Abbot and Convent
of Coverham seisin of a moiety of the manor and vill of Ketilwelle
in Craven. There were also other lands &c. in the township
comprehended in this transfer, including tenements called Skalegill,
Stangill, Hometreselightes, Roulgille and Coverhede in Coverdale,
with common of pasture &c. The Nevilles retained their moiety of
the manor until the attainder of the last Earl in 1569, when it was
forfeited to the Crown and eventually sold off. The Abbey of
Coverham retained the other moiety until the Dissolution, when the
land passed also to various owners, but the lordship of the manor
has continued to be held in trust by the Crown.
Much of the property was held by the Cliffords, and from
an unpublished account of rents £c. due to Francis, Earl of
Cumberland, I find a list of about eighty tenants in the bailiwick of
Kettle welldale, who owed suit of court to the Earl in 1610. The
first name on the list is Henry Moorhouse, followed by Lancelot
Marton, Wm. Toppan, John Smyth (there have been Toppans and
Smiths at Kettlewell for 500 years). Thos. Ellis (a family long
resident at Kilnsey) Henry Rypley de Calverdayll, Margaret
Tennant, Thomas Inman, &c. The perquisites of the courts held
at Skipton for the said bailiwick every three weeks amounted to
£l 1 6s. with two courts-leet and views of frankpleclge, one held
i4th April realised in the said year ending on the morrow of the
Feast of St. Martin, Bishop, in winter 1610, ^9 gs. 4d. and the other
held 1 3th Oct. £10 175. 8d. Of waifs and strays 6 sheep were
taken at Hartlington in custody of Thos. Moorby, deputy bailiff.
Allowance was made to the accountants for lands in Woodhouse
and Appletrewick, late^parcel of the Priory of Marton. Anthony
477
Horner, miller, of Appletrewick, was convicted of felony, whereof
his goods fell to the lord. Probably executions at the gallows at
Appletrewick had ere this lapsed by desuetude, although persons
were hanged at Richmond in the North Riding until 1613, (see
page 44).
The church at Kettlewell, according to Torre, was a rectory of
two medieties, the one belonging to the patronage of the Lords
Gray, of Rotherfield, and the other to the Abbot and Convent of
Coverham. In 1348 the latter mediety was appropriated by the
Archbishop's authority and a vicarage ordained, which was presented
to him by the Abbot and Convent of Coverham until the dissolution
of the House. The presentation is now in lay hands and the present
able and energetic vicar is the Rev. J. W. Cockerill, who succeeded
the Rev. D. Haslewood in 1898.
The church (St. Mary's), possesses little interest save a few
fragments of ancient sculptured stones and an early font. The old
edifice was pulled down in 1819 and the present church was built on
its site. It was restored in 1885 when a new chancel, south porch
and roof were added. The original building was a plain structure
having narrow Norman lights and neither aisles nor tower. It is to
be regretted that this unique old temple was not preserved. The
late Miss Currer, of Eshton Hall, whose interest in the venerable
buildings and antiquities of Craven deserves grateful remembrance,
ordered, I am told, drawings to be made at her own expense, of all
the old churches in Craven, and amongst them that at Kettlewell,
but unfortunately they cannot now be found.*
Followers of John Wesley were pretty numerous about Kettlewell
in the early part of the century, but their chapel here was not built
until 1835. Its windows look out on "the green hills flanked with
grey scars whose feet are buried in ferns and low hazel-bushes, while
the modest lily spangling with its snowy blossoms these fair hill-sides,
as they do in the blessed Land of Caanan, seem as the emblems of
His imperishable Church, which shall grow in sweetness as the lily
and spread forth its roots as Lebanon. At one time this little House
of God was wont to be crowded with honest worshippers, but since
the closing of the lead-mines the congregation has much thinned, and
few are left who remember the chapel in its hey-day. Prominent
among the zealous body of worshippers was old John Platt, the
village smith, a man worthy of that old race of honest blacksmiths
whose hammer and anvil have resounded in Kettlewell since the days
of the feudal Kings. " Awd Platt," as he was called, was a man of
great sincerity and force of character. He was full of life's energy,
* In the Catalogue of the Library of Miss Currer, of Eshton Hall (1820) mention is
made on page 251 of Sixteen Original Drawings of Views in Craven (oblong folio) by
J. C. Holland.
and when he preached, as he did occasionally, you could, as a native
once remarked to me, " hear the bellows roar." He was a great
temperance advocate at the time when such men were sorely needed,
and many a man owes his bettered state of life to old John's
pleadings. He was not a bigot, and used to say there was " no
harm in a'nod glass if a chap wod nobbut stop theear." On one
occasion he was preaching on the evils of drink and was waxing
warm on his subject when a man in the gallery suddenly got up and
called out: " Thoo meeans me, awd Platt ! " " Neea, aw dooant
meean thee, Reuben lad, but if t'cap fits tha, put it on ! " " Aw
will," cried Reuben, and suiting the action to the word, took up his
cap and marched off down stairs and across the chapel floor and
away out of doors !
WESLEYAN CHAPEL, KETTLEWELL.
Seventy years ago Wm. Dixon was the village smith. At this
time there was a little cotton-spinning done in the village, but the
bulk of the inhabitants were engaged on the land, and at the local
lead-mines. The excellent Race Horses hotel was then kept by John
Marshall, and the Blue Bell by James Pickard, while Richard
Tennant had the Windmill inn. The land is now all in grazing, but
formerly there was a good deal of corn grown about Kettlewell, there
being a weekly market on Thursdays for corn, &c. The cattle fairs
were held on July 6th, September 2nd, and October 23rd.
The scenery around Kettlewell is, as I have observed, wild and
romantic, and there are fine mountain walks into Coverdale, or
westward by the so-called "Slit" to Arncliffe in Littondale, a short
479
three niile-«. The view of Kettlewell from the Kilnsey road on this
side of the valley is extremely fine, shewing the whole of the town
with the terraced scars and the gaunt form of Great Whernside
towering beyond. The scene is admirably depicted in Brownsworth's
photograph engraved at the beginning of this chapter.
It was fine natural country of this description that inspired
|. M. W. Turner, the prince of landscape painters, with the
capabilities of his art. " The scenery whose influence I can trace
most definitely throughout his works," writes Mr. Ruskin, " is that
of Yorkshire. His first conceptions of mountain scenery seem to
have been taken from Yorkshire, and its rounded hills, far-winding
rivers, and broken limestone scars to have formed a type in his mind
to which he sought, so far as might be obtained, some correspondent
imagery in other landscapes/'
And then the lovely sunsets which sometimes light up the grey
scars with magical radiance ! A lady once said to Turner, of one
of his glorious sunsets : " I never saw anything like this in Nature ! "
" No, madam," replied the great artist, "but don't you wish you
could ? ''
One of the finest mountain walks is to the top of Great
Whernside (2310 feet), whence a descent can be made by Angram
into romantic Upper Nidderdale. It is a long and lonely tramp, and
should not be attempted unless there is plenty of daylight before \<>u.
In former years the writer has had some rough experiences on these
fells. On the way Uouk Cave may be taken, which is reached by the
Coverdale road, and thence by a path along the fell side to a small
bridge, east of which is the stream issuing from the cave. It is in ;i
wild and secluded spot, and there is little doubt that when the district
was subject to the assaults of the successive invasions of Roman,
Pict, and Anglo-Saxon, the cave was the refuge of the hard-driven
natives. At one time quantities of human bones were found in it.
The cave is somewhat difficult of access, but when the water is
sufficiently low it is best explored by walking up the bed of the
stream. There are several branch passages which penetrate the
mountain for a considerable distance, although the actual traversable
distance is not more than about five hundred yards.
CHAPTER XLIII.
A TRAMP THROUGH LITTONDALE.
Local possessions of Fountain Abbey — Wild beasts and birds of prey— The eagle in
Littondale — Last record of the eagle in Wharfedale — Routes into Littondale-
Hawkswick — The Horse Hea'U pass — Across Malham Moors — Dalesfolk and the
Transvaal War — Rainfall in Littondale — Heat and cold — Local longevity— Vicars
of Arncliffe — Botany of Littondale — Some rare wild flowers — The church at
Arncliffe — Halton Gill chapel &c.— Wild scenery.
JLTHOUGH the valley of the Skirfare, or "deep fork of
Amerdale" as poetically described by Wordsworth,* is
not properly in Wharfedale, yet it holds such close
relationship with the history and scenery of the
romantic Upper Wharfe that some notice of it will
naturally be expected in this work. The whole of the valley was
within the Percy fee, and Richard de Percy gave the village of
Litton and Littondale to the monks of Fountains, as described by
the boundaries, and Alice, his relict, quitclaimed the same, as did
John, son of Oliver de Deyncourt and Agnes, his wife, which was
confirmed by Henry III.
In 1294 Henry de Percy confirmed to the Abbot and Convent
every grant made by his ancestors, for which recognizance the said
Abbot and Convent of Fountains gave to the said Henry de Percy
and his heirs, all kinds of wild beasts and birds of prey in this dale,
and his chief Forester was to have the care of them. The mention
of " birds of prey " leaves very little room to doubt that the eagle,
merlin,, and peregrine falcon were at that time common residents in
Littondale, and it is more than probable that Arncliffe, the capital
village in the dale and head of an extensive parish, derives its name
from the Anglo-Saxon earn, an eagle, and clyf, a cliff, in allusion to
the high rocks in this neighbourhood, anciently the haunt and
resting-place of these birds. Eagles have not bred in Upper
Wharfedale within living recollection, but in the adjoining county of
Westmorland and in Cumberland they were not uncommon down to
the end of last century. The old churchwardens' accounts for
Crosthwaite, for example, contain many entries of payments made for
the capture and slaughter of eagles down to 1765, while in 1796-7
the white-tailed eagle bred near Keswick. More recently a pair of
golden-eagles were observed for about three months during the year
* Dr. Whitaker states, but without authority, that Amerdale was the more ancient
and original name of this valley. But Litton is a place of Anglo-Saxon antiquity and
probably existed as a Saxon settlement before the parish of Arncliffe was formed or
Amerdale was heard of. In a charter of Adeliza de Romelli, ca 1150, Langstroth in
"Allerdale" is mentioned, apparently the same.
481
1 836 in the neighbourhood of Helvellyn.* In Wharfedale they
occasionally appear as stragglers from Scotland, and Mr. A. Spence
of Weston Manor, near Ilkley, says that in November, 1885, while
walking in a meadow at the back of his house, he observed a large
golden eagle feeding upon a dead sheep, and early on the following
morning a farmer gathering turnips saw the strange bird making a
breakfast of the same sheep. This is, I believe, the last record of
an eagle having been seen in Wharfedale.
From Kilnsey or Kettlewell there is a good road through
Littondale to Arncliffe and Halton Gill and forward to the moors of
Langstrothdale Chase, which bound the head of the valley. There
is also a good road along the north bank of the Skirfare to the
picturesquely seated little village of Hawkswick. In proceeding
along the south side of the valley the village is seen high up on the
opposite side seeming to cling to the craggy fell like a hawk's or
eagle's nest. The place is mentioned in Domesday as ffochesvuic,
and gave name to an ancient family who were lords of the manor
of Arncliffe in the time of Edward II. The name may signify the
village of the hawk, from the A.-S. hauoc, a hawk, although I incline to
the opinion that the true derivation is to be sought in the A.-S. heag,
high, German hoch, descriptive of the elevated character of the site.
A grand walk into Littondale, and I know of no finer approach
to the romantic upper portion of it, is from Raysgill over the Horse
Head pass to Halton Gill. This route though lonely is wild and
picturesque. A wealth of mountain, forest-haunt and fell surrounds
you wide and far, while the bold crown of Penyghent looms up with
particularly striking grandeur at one point of the route. The
summit of the pass is near 2,000 feet elevation. Going from Halton
Gill you pass through the first gate on the right beyond the village,
and this direction is perhaps to be preferred to the much steeper
though shorter ascent from the other side. In either case it can be
recommended as one of the finest mountain walks to be had
anywhere in Yorkshire.
To those who like a brisk mountain ramble I also commend the
road from Malham across the high moors to Arncliffe (ten miles), a
route familiar enough to the Rev. Chas. Kingsley, who introduced
much of the scenery of this neighbourhood into his book, the Water
Babies. When you come in sight of Littondale the prospect over the
valley northwards and eastwards is extremely grand and wild. Deep
below you nestles the charming little valley of Arncliffe, at the sight
of which you will probably be disposed to exclaim with Longfellow —
A region of repose it seems,
A place of slumber and of dreams,
Remote among the wooded hills
For there no noisy railway speeds
So- \<>rtli
(i&. Vol. 1. page 22(1.
482
Vet these poetic aspects of the scene must not be applied too strictly
to the sturdy and active inhabitants of this romantic little valley.
No people are more energetic or ready to keep in touch with events
that move the chords of the great outer world. Four centuries ago
the men of Littondale sent their full quota of stout-hearts to the
ever-memorable Field of Flodden,. and to-day, remembering their
past traditions, they have been well to the fore in providing the
sinews that have helped us to win the day in the Transvaal. No
less a sum than ^115 has been subscribed in aid of the late war by
the patriotic farmers and their wives and sons and daughters in
Littondale, which comprises the four small villages of Hawkswick,
Arncliffe, Litton, and Halton Gill, together with a few scattered
farms around. Such loyalty assuredly finds its reward in well-
doing, and heartily may we wish the inhabitants of this little
mountain valley happiness in the future, and may they never know
a " rainy-day ! "
" Rainy-day," however, must not be accepted too literally, for
the weather in this wild fell-land is often something to be remembered.
There are, to be sure, long spells of sunshine and bright skies, but at
certain times of the year the rain, the rain it never ceaseth, and sad
is the fate of the hapless visitor who is house-bound perhaps for a
week together. May, June, and September are the finest of the
holiday months ; July and August the wettest. Mr. John Hopkinson,
F.R..Met.S., &c., whose Tables of Rainfall in Wharfedale appear on
pages 22-23, informs me that heavy falls of rain are of frequent
occurrence at Arncliffe, there not having been a single year without
several falls exceeding one inch in the 24 hours ending 9 a.m. Such
falls have occurred in 188 out of the 396 months comprised in the 33
years, 1866 to 1898. They have been most frequent in March and
December. The greatest fall of rain in 24 hours in any month within
this period has exceeded two inches once in February, March, and
July , twice in August, October, and December , three times in
January, and five times in November. Such falls include the
following exceeding two-and-a-half inches: — 1868, March 4th, 2^85;
1880, Nov. i3th, 2'55 , 1884, Jan. 22nd, 2-55 , 1892, Oct. i4th, 2*59 ,
1895, Jmv 25tn> 2'66 , 1897, Aug. 5th, 2*75 inches.
In spite of this heavy rainfall the climate may be considered
dry and bracing, as owing to the porous nature of the surface
rocks the moisture is soon absorbed, and indeed, after a short
few weeks' of hot sunny weather, the pastures become quite blighted
and browned. Those who have experienced the heat of a dry
season in this locality know what it is to have their "jackets
warmed," while the pure northern air and open character of the
country are alike conducive to extremes of heat and cold. Mr.
Hopkinson has also furnished me with the following extreme shade
temperatures which have occurred at Arncliffe in the twenty-six
years, 1867 to 1892: —
. \MOYK cjo. i8<xi, Alii;. j()lh, c)i ; 1*70 July J.v d <M I '878 July Jjnd i>^ ; 1887, June
1 8(1) ijj
Hi -low i) . 1870. Dec. ;,ist 4 ; i,S74 Dec. -,i-( j ; i,S8i Jan. ->5th -> .
The district has produced many instances of longevity,* not the
least interesting are those of recent vicars. In the space of nearly
a century there have been but three vicars of the parish, namely,
the Rev. Eardley Norton, M.A., instituted in 1809, the Rev. William
Boyd, M.A.. instituted in 1835, and the Rev. W. A. Shuffrey, M.A..
instituted in 1893, the present esteemed vicar. Canon Boyd was
Archdeacon of Craven from 1880 to 1890, when advancing years and
distance from a railway station obliged him to resign. He was
vicar of Arncliffe for the long period of fifty-seven years, and in tin-
book which he wrote on I.ittondale, conjointly with the Rev. Mr.
Shuffrey, who at that time was incumbent of Halton Gill, he recites
some amusing experiences of his journey from Newcastle to Ripon
in the " Highflyer," and how after considerable trouble and enquiry
he reached the remote vicarage "in the middle of a field/' It was
not easy, however, to judge of its accommodation, he tells us, for
part of it was filled with wool belonging to the principal farmer, and
another part was used as the "poor-house/' and the good vicar had
to wait sometime outside until Betty Simpson, who was off "sticking,"
returned with the key in her pocket.
The memory of the venerable Archdeacon will always be
cherished with particular regard as well in the parish where he so
long laboured as in the wide sphere of his ministerial activities as
Archdeacon of Craven. He had a genial disposition, having a great
many friends, anil he was charitable to a fault , among his numerous
benefactions being the gift of ^1000 to the living of Arncliffe. He
died July i 8th, 1893, aged 84, leaving two surviving sons, Mr. Wm.
Boyd, of Newcastle, managing director of a large and well-known
firm of engineers, and the Rev. Venerable ('. Boyd, Archdeacon of
Col umbo.
Happily he has been followed at Arncliffe by a gentleman equally
disposed to charity in the cause of His people. Few clergymen have
worked more zealously in the public weal than has Mr. Shuffrey
during the few years of his vicariate. He is an untiring worker in
many directions, and seems never to weary in well-doing. He has
quite recently, I believe, offered to pay half the amount which may
fall upon the guarantors in respect to the establishment of telegraphic
communication with Arncliffe. During his leisure he has acquired
considerable proficiency in botany, which has enabled him to benefit
Yorkshire science by his discoveries in the rich and varied flora of
this romantic upland valley. The flora of Littondale, he tells us, i>
perhaps as rich as any in England, when it is considered that the
* Mrs. Preston <>t (In- ( 'ullage, Litton, died in March, 1900, aged 91. Shi- was I
believe, tin- nlik-st inhabitant in Littondale, and was much respected in the district.
entire area is only eight miles in length and about three miles in
width. Ten years ago he presented the present writer with a list of
all the flowering plants and ferns which he had found growing wild
in the little dale, and these number upwards of 300, and include
many choice species and rarities. Perhaps the most interesting
plant of the locality is the pretty mountain avens (Dryas octopetala),
which flowers in some profusion on the heights some distance from
Arncliffe, and singularly has been found nowhere else in West
Yorkshire. It is an Alpine, and probably a relic of the great Ice
Age, when glaciers overspread the whole of the North of England
and Northern Europe. The plant occurs on the mountains of
Norway, and I have obtained luxuriant examples of it from
Switzerland. Another noteworthy plant in the vicinity of Arncliffe
is the Antennaria dioica, or pearly-everlasting, a close ally of the
edelweiss, the national flower of the Swiss.
The church of St. Oswald at Arncliffe is a Norman foundation,
but has undergone so much rebuilding and reparation that little
remains to bespeak its antiquity. The chancel was wholly rebuilt in
1843. It contains memorials to the families of Tennant, Foster,
Dawson of Halton Gill, Myers of Darnbrook, &c. A beautiful
stained window was also inserted a few years ago in the south wall
of the chancel to the memory of the late Archdeacon Boyd, and the
beautiful oak screen is also a memorial to him.
Some four miles beyond Arncliffe is the wide and romantic
chapelry of Halton Gill, with the records of its ancient water-mill and
remote little hamlets of Heselden and Foxup, once parcel of the
possessions of Fountains Abbey. The chapel of St. John the Baptist
is mentioned by Harrison as standing in 1577. It was re-erected in
the time of Charles I., and again rebuilt in 1848 at a cost of nearly
^500. A churchyard was then added. It is a quiet, beautiful
place, surrounded by lofty and far-reaching moors and shepherded
hills, promiment among which is the gaunt outline of Fountains Fell,
Coska Moor, and Penyghent. A wild mountain road leaves the
main valley at Halton Gill Bridge for Settle, ten miles, and goes over
high ground (1,400 feet) between Penyghent and Fountains Fell,
passing the solitary Penyghent House, near which are the famous
mounds known as the Giants' Graves. Legend and story cling about
these secluded ravines and mountain valleys, one of the best known
being that of the " Wise Woman of Littondale," an aged hag who, if
report be true, wrought some marvellous incantations. She was a
familiar figure in the dale, and used often to come into Kettlewell,
but young men and women would jump over the nearest wall if they
saw her coming, so afraid were they to meet her piercing haggard
eye. Some of her divinings are recounted at length in Henderson's
Folk Lore of the Northern Counties.
CHAPTER XLIV.
UP DALE FROM KETTLEWELL TO BUCKDEN.
Picturesque scenery— The village ot Starbottoni Meaning of the name— A historic
Hood— Old houses at Starbottom— Buckden Woods Local field-names— At the
dale-head —First records of Buckden Wild doer -Manorial owners Buckden Hall
— Antiquity of manor-house — The family of Buckden The village — Church and
Wesleyan Chapel— The Friends— Wild scenery— A haunt of the marten— Cray.
" HEN the hot sun shines on limestone fell and scar, the
white road up the dale will gladly be exchanged foi
the pleasanter path through the grassy meads skirting
the west bank of the river. As we ascend the valley
by this path a wealth of foliage forms a grand
foreground to the vista backed by the towering range of the Stake.
At two miles from Kettlewell we cross the bridge over the Wharfe
opposite the village of Starbottom, which lies snugly esconced at the
foot of Cam Gill, a winding precipitous gully down which the oft-
turbulent Cam Beck descends from the bleak heights above.
This little village of Starbottoni or Stanerbotton, als Stanerbot
as it is frequently spelled in old documents, appears in Domesday
under the horribly-distorted name of Stamphotne. As the whole of
Upper Wharfedale appears to have been colonized by the Viking
invaders in the ninth and tenth centuries, it is quite possible the
name is derived from the Norse ster, a place or settlement, and botn,
the head of a dale.* But if local pronunciation is to be set aside
and ancient writings are to be our guide, the root of the word is in
the Anglo-Saxon sfati, a stone, v. sftinig, stony, and bbtm, a bottom, in
allusion to the no doubt originally very stony character of the place
at this time.
Never perhaps within recent centuries has the locality been
better entitled to the description of "stony bottom" than after the
historic flood mentioned in all our annals as having ruined this
prosperous dale-village in the year 1686. The loss suffered by the
inhabitants of this township, which is in the ancient parish of
Kettlewell, amounted to no less a sum than .^3000. The records
state that on the 8th of June there happened "an earthquake and a
violent and dreadful tempest of thunder, hail and rain which
descended so violently from the mountains and out of the caverns
that it immediately overran and tore up the banks of the rivers
* See also Lucas1 .Studies in ffidderdale, p. 93. In the MS. Compotus of Francis
Earl of Cumberland (1610), I find the name written very'nearly in the old Norse way
Sterbotten,
486
running through ye tonnes of Kettlewell and Starbotton, when 100
acres of good land were washed away and TOO acres covered with
stones and gravel. The ancient streams were diverted and several
bridges were driven down and overwhelmed, and many houses
destroyed." Petitions were ordered to be issued and collections made
throughout England in aid of the sufferers. Places far away from
Yorkshire contributed. The parish registers of Trumpington in
Cambridgeshire shew an entry of 4*. 4d. "for loss by an earthquake
at Kettlewell, Yorkshire." In the Leathley parish accounts which I
have quoted on page 122, I find also this entry:
Collected in ye Parish Church of Leathley ye eleaventh day of — — , 1687, by
vertue of his Majties Letters Patent for and towards — — of ye poore and distressed
Inhabitants of Kettlewell and Starbotton in ye — — of Yorke, who suffered by a
dreadful inundation of water, ye summ of nine shilling's and foure pence, resting in ye
hands of Quintine Reynolds and Henry Bake, Churchwardens, who are to pay ye same
to Mr. Ralph Malkin, sub-collector and to take an acquittance for ye same.
Not all the houses were washed away, although some of them
we are told were filled with gravel to the chamber-windows. Many
however, would appear to have succumbed. I have noted a few
bearing dates previous to this great flood. One of these is inscribed
W.F. 1656, another T.S. 1665. and a third bears the date 1664.
Continuing our walk from Starbottom by the fields towards
Buckden, the scenery becomes ever more grandly-wild and beautiful.
The extensive woods belonging to the Crompton-Stansfield family add
in no small degree to the picturesqueness of the surroundings and
help to relieve the barrenness of the overhanging hills. The district
has also yielded some interesting wild plants, including the curious
and now rare Lady's-slipper orchid. The field-names round about
seem to be all modern. But on the fell-side near Buckden there is
a piece of land called Willy Close, which before it was enclosed was
probably known by the single name of "Willy." In other parts of
Yorkshire we meet with the same name applied to certain hills and
eminences, as Willy How, Brown Willy, &c.*
Buckden is the farthest village in the dale to which the daily
mail and coaches run from Skipton, being nineteen miles from that
town, and via which all letters to and above Grassington are now
directed. Beyond this point the contracted valley runs westward
through lonely Langstrothdale, while all around rise the hills and
passes that connect the dale-head with Bishopdale, Raydale,
Littondale, and the romantic valley of the Upper Yore. The village
stands at the foot of the great sweep of fells that runs up to Buckden
Pike (2302 feet), the crowning point of the range.f The Pike may
* See the author's note on "William's Hill," in Romantic Richniondshire, p. 292.
f The Rev. J. E. Morris thinks this word " Pike" may be the same as the Pyrenean
"Pic." In Cumberland there are the two Red Pikes, in Westmorland there is Kidsty
Pike, while in Malhamdale, Craven, we have- Piked Haw.
487
. x-ended from Buckden, though it is a long and steep climb, but
one that is amply rewarded by a view of almost unrivalled extent and
magnificence. With the aid of a map and reliable compass almost
every hill and prominent feature of the view may be determined.
The best time to make the ascent is about an hour before sunset,
and if the evening be clear the light reflected by the declining sun
over far-reaching moor and mountain is grand in the extreme.
Mr. W. Denison Roebuck, F.L.S., furnishes a short but interesting
sketch of the molluscan fauna of the Pike in the Naturalist for 1889,
and remarks that at 2010 feet "we found our last mollusc, Arion ater,
crawling on the coarse grass."
Buckden is not mentioned in Domesday, and first appears by
name in the attestation of one Henry de Buckedune to a charter of
Peter de Arches granting the manor of Arnford to Uchtred fil Ketel
de Hartlington in the time of Henry I. The name of Adam de
Bukdene also appears in a charter of Peter de Arches granting a
bovate of land in his demesne to Bolton Priory. There is little
doubt that the name is to be traced to the Tent, buc, a stag, and dene,
a valley, as this secluded locality was above all others in Craven a
favoured haunt of the buck and wild-deer down to a late period.
Leland, the King's antiquary, who travelled through Yorkshire shortly
before the dissolution of monasteries, says of the adjacent Bishopdale:
"Bishop's Dale longeth to the King, and yn the Hilles about be
Redde Deer. In faire winters the Deere keepe there, in shrap
winters they forsake the extreme cold and barennes of them." The
annals of the House of Clifford contain numerous notices of the
hunting, slaying, and poaching of deer among these hills down to the
time of the Lady Anne Clifford in the i7th century. (.SVr also p. 426.)
The manor of Buckden, together with that of a moiety of the
manor of Hartlington, belonged to the Hebers of Marlon, and in the
early part of this century was purchased by the family of Sir John
Ramsden, who with Lady Isabella Ramsden resided at the Hall.
The estates were subsequently purchased by the late Col. Stansfield,
of Esholt, with whose descendants they still remain. The Hall is a
large Georgian building of three stories, erected on the site of a
former mansion or manor-house that may have existed perhaps from
the time when the ancient family of Buckden were resident here, and
took their name from the place. But the original manor-house is
believed by some not to have occupied the site of the present Hall,
and stood where is an old house having a low building at the east end
situated on the Hubberholme road. In feudal times the manor was
in moities, one half being held by Elias de Knoll of the heirs of
Percy, and the other half by Elias de Bukeden by the service only of
finding four foresters in Langstrothdale.* Large game must at that
time have been plentiful in this secluded valley.
* See also Ym-kslnrf AVr, S</-., vol. xvii., page 63.
488
The district is much visited in the tourist season, and at
Buckden there is a good inn, besides inns at Hubberholme and
Cray. Opposite the Buck inn stood the village stocks, and old John
Chapman tells me he remembers seeing men relegated to temporary
punishment in them sixty or seventy years ago. Old John is one of
the Dale patriarchs and there are very few men or women in England,
now living in this year of grace 1900, who can say with him that
they have never heard a railway whistle or seen the steam-horse since
their mother's lullaby sounded in their infant ears. The native
dalesfolk are an honest, God-fearing, unsophisticated race, and down
to quite recent times retained customs, manners, and even speech, but
little altered by the roll of centuries.
WESLEYAN CHAPEL, BUCKDEN.
Local church-folk attend the quaint old place of worship at
Hubberholme, and there is also a small Wesleyan Chapel, originally
erected early this century, standing picturesquely beneath a wide
range of stone-fenced hills. It is the most northern chapel in
the Grassington Circuit. Formerly the Friends were a pretty strong
body in the upper part of Wharfedale, as they were in the
neighbouring valleys of Raydale and Wensleydale. In the days of
religious persecutions the Quakers were sad sufferers, and I find that
at the Assizes held at York, Feb. 2nd, 1663-4, one Anthony Knowles,
489
of an old Buckden family (probably I!I-M ended from tin- Knolls who
were lords of Buckden in Xorman centuries), confessed to a meeting
of Quakt-rs at his house in Buckden, and to being at another at the
house of (leorge Wilson, of Cray. He pleaded in extenuation of the
offence, — and a righteous pleading it was surely, — that their meetings
had but one object, namely " to serve and s^ek the Lord." Their
old burial-ground at Scarr House, a mile above Hubberholme, has
not been, I believe, interred in these thirty years or more. The
Friends had also an old burial-ground at Starbotton, which has
lately been added to an old estate there of the Woodd family.
HUBBERHOLME CHURCH.
The district, as observed, abounds in wild and beautiful scenery
and is well known as one of the last haunts of that adroit little
animal the brown-martin ( M. sj'/jrs/r/s ), not uncommon still among
the remote pine-forests of America and Norway, but now extremely
rare in Britain. Messrs. Clarke and Roebuck record the last capture
of a marten in Yorkshire as having been made at Buckden in
Wharfedale in the winter of 1880.
Visitors to this district should not omit a visit to the romantic
neighbourhood of Cray, where are some fine waterfalls. The earliest
reference to Cray which I have found occurs in a fine dated at
Doncaster 4th John (1202), by which Matilda, Countess of Warwick,
daughter and heiress of William de Percy, quitclaims to William de
Arches a certain meadow situated on the north side of Werf (Wharfe)
at " Creigate." Again in 1241, in an arrangement between the
490
Abbot of Fountains and William de Percy, mention is made of an
enclosure upon " Creybecke," in which the Abbot and his successors
had the liberty of pasture for their horses. The name is doubtless
Teutonic and not British, as suggested by Dr. Whitaker, and is
probably derived from the Teut. creg, creca, a small inlet, in allusion
perhaps to the creek-like off-shoot of the dale and beck above
Buckden. Creeklade is the A.-S. Cregldd, and Crcacanford is Crayford
in Kent. According to Dr. Murray a creek may not only mean an
arm of the sea, but an inlet, or short arm of a river (America and
Colonial), or a narrow corner of land running out from a main area ,
a narrow plain or recess running in between mountains. Isaac
Walton uses the word as applied to a river, and Goldsmith says that
lesser streams and rivulets are denominated creeks. Compare also
the Welsh cttgyll, a ravine, or creek.
From Cray the walk may be continued over the Stak'e and
through lonely Bishopdale to Aysgarth, where are, according to
many ideas, the finest river-falls in England.
I
o
DC
ID
I
O
CHAPTER XL V
IN WILD LANGSTROTHDALE.
Kxleni of Buckden township "I'lie Korest of Langstroth owned by the Percys and
Cliffords The chapelry of Hubberholme — Viking invasion — Antiquity of
Hubberholme Church — Description of interior—An ancient rood-loft — The Heber
family and the new parsonage— A walk up the dale— Poor's Pasture — Extermination
of wild animals —Lodges in the forest of Langstroth— Local possessions of Fountains
Abbey— Monastic cattle-folds— Raysgill— Beckermonds — The Lodge family-
Oughtershaw and the Woodds— Local enterprise— A wealth of wild Uowers—
Discovery <>f coins Romantic scenery — At the source of the Wharfe— Conclusion.
township of Buckden reaches far up Langstrothdale
and includes the retired little hamlets of Cray,
Deepdale, Vockenthwaite, Oughtershaw and Becker-
monds, in fact all the places and territory embraced by
the old Forest of Langstroth within the ancient parish
of Arncliffe. The whole of the manorial rights rested with the
Percys until by the marriage in the reign of Henry VIII., of Margaret,
daughter of the sixth Earl of Northumberland, with Henry, Lord
Clifford, first Earl of Cumberland, when they descended to the
Cliffords and through them to the noble House of Cavendish. The
Fountains Abbey lands in Littondale and Langstrothdale were also
purchased by the same family, so that the Cliffords became and
continued for some time after the dissolution of monasteries lords of
a very wide domain in Upper Wharfedale. The extravagances of
Earl George, however, led to some dispersion of the estates, and in
1604 Heselden was sold for about ^noo, and Greenfield, where the
Forest of Langstroth commences, afterwards passed to the Hebers of
Marton. Subsequently many of the dalesfolk purchased their own
farms.
Hubberholme is a perpetual curacy in the old parish of Arncliffe,
and in the Parliamentary Survey it is recommended tc be made a
separate parish. The chapelry, which includes Hawkswick, embraces
an area of more than 16,000 acres, and is one of the wildest and
least populated parishes of its extent in England. In Domesday it
appears as Huburgheha,' though this seems to be a corruption of the
name which is subsequently written Hubberholm, Hubberham, and
the like, and locally pronounced Hub'ram. It may possibly have
been named in compliment to the great Viking prince Hubba, who
492
with his brothers Halfden and Ivar, succeeded in wresting
Northumbria from the English.
There are not wanting evidences of the occupation of the district
by these undaunted pirates, who fell with savage determination on
north-west England, butchering the people, seizing their goods, and
destroying every Christian church and belonging they could lay hands
upon. Numbers of iron arrow-heads, most probably of this period,
have been unearthed chiefly through the operations of moles, in parts
of Langstrothdale (mostly about Beckermonds), and a single coin of
Archbishop Wimund (A.D. 832-854) was dug up in the Vicarage grounds
at Arncliffe. I have mentioned on page 270 that the succeeding
Archbishop Wulfhere was obliged to take refuge in Wharfedale on the
Viking occupation of York in 870.* From York a portion of the army
marched into Lincolnshire and there aided by the Viking forces under
the leaders Guthrum, Halfden, and Hamond, wrought shocking havoc
in that territory , not a monastery or a church being left standing.
Small Christian temples are not unlikely to have existed both at
Arncliffe and Hubberholme at this period, although neither stone nor
trace of any such foundations have been preserved. There was
indeed little church building between the settlement and conversion
of the Vikings in Yorkshire and the Norman Conquest in 1066, and
therefore our knowledge regarding the origin of the church at
Hubberholme is largely conjectural. The first church of which we
possess any record appears to have been dedicated to St. Leonard; the
present fabric, however, has long borne the dedication to St. Michael.
The church interior is one of the quaintest and most remarkable
to be found in Yorkshire, and has been admirably portrayed in the
painting by Lobley, reproduced in full page in the quarto edition of
this work. The masonry of the walls and some of the arches is
extremely crude. The latter are round and built of roughly-dressed
stones resting upon rude octagonal pillars having plain abaci.
Three of the westernmost arches of the north aisle are pointed and
supported by octagonal columns, while the eastern or choir arch is
more depressed and of wide span ; the thrust being sustained by a
massive buttress from the east side. The bulk of the church is
obviously of the early part of the i6th century, and is mentioned in
the accounts of Henry, Earl Percy for 1502. The window spaces are
wide and have characteristic depressed heads. The wide, depressed
east end of the church is also noteworthy.
* The Vikings entered York in 867 and Hubba became Governor; the Dane
Gudram acting as his resident deputy. The ancient thoroug-hfare in York called
Goodramgate is traditionally believed to mark the site of his house. Halfden became
King of Northumbria in 875 and coins of his reign were found in 1840, among a hoard
of 7,000 others at Cuerdale, in Lancashire. He is said to have ravaged and plundered
the whole of Strathclyde from the Mersey to the Clyde, traversing our western dales
and, heathen as he was, destroying every object of Christian veneration. He died after
two years of tyrannical sovereignty in 877.
493
P.ut the most striking feature of the interesting interior, happily
retained, is an original rood-loft separating the choir from the
body of the church. There is no chancel-arch. The loft however
bearing the holy rood, takes its place in the position sanctioned by
the ancient Church as typifying transition through death, the joining
of the body militant with the body spiritual. For all who will pass out
of the former into the latter, must be acquainted with affliction, they
must walk in the shadow of the Cross and pass through the portal of
Death to the altar-throne in the Holy of Holies where is Life
everlasting. Few of these symbolical erections remain in England,
nor are any, I believe, known to be of an earlier date than the
1 5th century. The Hubberholme rood-loft is therefore of very
special interest and fortunately retains its original character almost
entire. The ancient rood, or image of Christ on the Cross, has
however, disappeared, and in its place is the present plain Cross,
erected about forty years ago. The usual images of John and Mary
are likewise absent, but their positions on each side of the Cross are
indicated by the mortice-holes still apparent in the beam. The
length of the screen measured from the extremities of the supporting
jambs is 18 feet, and the width is about 6 feet. The loft is open at
the north end on the east or choir side, and has evidently been
entered by a movable stair or ladder. The east face of the loft
consists of thirteen arched panels filled with Gothic tracery, and the
support bears a running pattern in black with a band below painted
in its original color, red. The open floor consists of stout oaken
balks ; their under surfaces presenting roughly-hewn surfaces from
the tree. On the south jamb, beneath the loft is cut the Percy
badge, a fetterlock within the horns of a crescent, and upon the
north jamb is an annulet. They are repeated on the west front,
together with the following inscription :
Hno Dom irvcmil hoc opus crat Willmi Jake carpet'.
Whitaker gives the date as " MCCCCCLVIII," but the second and
third letters appear to me to be a rude form of " VC," which like
the inscription over the tower entrance at IJolton Abbey is intended
to indicate five hundred, the whole date being one thousand live
hundred and fifty-eight. This was the year when Queen Mary died
and the Protestant Elizabeth ascended the throne, and the use of
such objects was prohibited.
Garlands of flowers &c. such as I have described on page 400,
have been hung upon this old rood-loft within living recollection.
The custom which so long survived in Upper Wharfedale in all
probability originated in far-off Saxon times, while in the Eastern
Church the same practice was also prevalent. At weddings and
funerals flowers were brought to the church, or even kept in the
church for the purpose of crowning the bride and bridegroom, or
strewing the bier of the deceased. Chaucer, whom many think
494
derived his two scholars of Strother in the Canterbury Tales from
Langstrothdale, alludes to the custom in his Clerk of Oxenford's Tale
when he says : " A coronne on hire hed they han y-dressed."
The font in the church is septangular and bears upon four of
the seven sides carvings of the fleur-de-lis, the couped head of some
animal (? the boar badge of Neville), and two human heads (male
and female) occupy the others , all being rudely sculptured. Henry
Percy, second Earl of Northumberland, who died in 1455, married
the Lady Eleanor, daughter of Ralph Neville, first Earl of
Westmorland, by whom he had nine sons and three daughters. I
may observe that in heraldry the marks of cadency during the life-
time of a father, are for the fifth son an annulet and for the sixth
son a fleur-de-lis.* The Percys also quartered the annulet of De la
Pole. Sir Thomas Percy, brother to the sixth Earl of Northumberland,
took part in the Aske rebellion and was executed at Tyburn in 1537,
leaving by his wife Eleanor, daughter and coheir of Sir Guischard
Harbottle, lord of Dalton-Michael, Co. York, two sons and a
daughter. Both sons succeeded to the Earldom of Northumberland
and the daughter married Sir Francis Slingsby.
The church contains some memorials of local families, including
a stained window in the south aisle, placed to the memory of the
Rev. Wm. Richardson Metcalfe, forty-seven years vicar of the parish,
who died in 1879. Another stained window in the north aisle
commemorates Mary, wife of Basil Woodd, who died in 1864, and
Lydia Wilson Woodd, wife of Charles H. Lardner Woodd, who died
in 1856. Near this window is a neat marble tablet, inscribed to the
memory of the above Chas. H. L. Woodd, of Oughtershaw Hall,
who was born i8th December, 1821, and died i5th December, 1893.
Another memorial tablet in the choir is inscribed to John Chas.
Ramsden, eldest son of Sir John Ramsden, who died 29th December,
1836, aged 49. There are also other memorials to the families of
Tennant, Jaques, and Foster. The church was carefully restored in
1863, none of the old features having been disturbed.
The situation of the ancient edifice in a retired part of the
valley is exceedingly picturesque ; its time-stained walls and low-
square tower being in admirable harmony with the surroundings.
(See the plate prefacing this chapter). Not very far away stands the
neat parsonage, erected in 1893, being a restoration of an old house
formerly belonging to the Heber family, of which family was the
good Bishop Heber, author of the famous missionary hymn,
From Greenland's Icy Mountains. (See page 245.) The property was
purchased from the late Mr. Richard Heber Wrightson, a descendant
* The fleur-de-lis first appears in England in the armorial bearings of Edward III,
ca. 13.39, and continued in the arms of England till 1801, when the Act !of Union was
passed. The device appears originally as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.
495
<>t the family, who had hern a liberal benefactor to the church, and
always took the liveliest interest in this romantic neighbourhood, being
his ancestral domains. Previous vicars had been obliged to content
themselves with the best lodgment they could find in the village,
but through the exertions of the present energetic vicar, the Rev.
Richard F. R. Anderton, a house has been provided at last worthy of
those entrusted with the cure of souls. Mr. Anderton has held the
living, which is in the gift of the vicar of ArnclifTe, now about twelve
\vurs, and is \vr\ popular in the district. But his inviting house,
situated as it is close beside the main road in the valley, along which
strangers are continuously passing to and fro, may tempt one to
reflect that too much advantage will be taken of the large-lettered
" WELCOME," which appears over the hospitable vicar's door.
Leaving the village, with its little "public" (an old homestead
which for many years served for the parsonage), and memories of old
Henry Pawson, landlord and parish clerk, whose portrait Mr. Lobley
has faithfully sketched in our engraving, we take the road up-dale
towards Raysgill and Oughtershaw. It is a very beautiful and romantic
walk. Many a dainty wild flower gems the way-side and river banks,
and many a rant ar/.\ flits across our path or over-stream to the
encompassing heights above. On our way we pass the old Poors
Pasture, which has long been let annually to the highest bidder, at
present it fetches ^9, formerly ^20. Before the enclosure of the
land, the rent of this charity was derived from five cattle-gaits upon
Kirkgill Pasture, two beast-gaits upon Moor Ing, and one grass-garth
and house-stead also at Kirkgill, the tenant in 1840 being Thos.
Ibbetson, who had to repair the fence and pay his share for taking
the moles. These troublesome little creatures are extremely
numerous in this dale and the neighbouring Bishopdale, many
thousands having been destroyed within recent years. No doubt
this superabundance of moles is due in great measure to the balance
of Nature having been disturbed by the destruction of the old
carnivora, such as the marten, stoat, weasel, and particularly the
polecat and badger, or foumart, as locally called, the latter being the
greatest enemy to all the species of rodents. These larger animals
have been all but totally exterminated in the dales, while the lesser
creatures of the field are correspondingly increasing.
This romantic valley was, as I have said, an old Forest of the
Percies and Cliffords, and from a paper in possession of Mr. \V.
Farrer, of Marton, I gather that in 1241, William de Percy had then
seven lodges for his foresters in Langstrothdale, namely, at Crey,
Huberham, Yoghannetheit (Yockenthwaite), Risegile (Raysgill),
Depedale, Bekersmotes (Beckermonds), and Uhtredestall (Oughter-
shaw). Uchtredstall seems to have been the most usual form of
spelling the name of this place in old documents, and it is not a little
surprising how the evolution to Oughtershaw has' come about.
496
The monks of Fountains had lands granted to them in this
valley as early as the i2th century. Adeliza de Romellf gave them
the forest of Langstroth in Allerdale (? Amerdale) with the birds and
wild beasts. The Percies subsequently gave them certain pasture for
their cattle here, and the above William de Percy granted to the
Abbot of Fountains and his successors pasture for twenty brood
mares, with offspring of three years, and eight stallions throughout
Longestrode, except within the enclosures around the said William's
lodges. The foresters, studmen, and cowherds were, however,
forbidden to blow their horns, shout, chase, or use any device that
would frighten or in any way interfere with the said horses enjoying the
free pasturage of the said lands. If they did, reasonable amends was
to be made. The Abbot might also have a lodge in the forest, and
make folds where he chose of the said William's wood, or of stone if
preferred, and he might also make fire of the wood to brand his horses.
In several places in the dale there are traces of what seem like
ancient sheep or cattle enclosures, which are probably vestiges of this
grant to the monks of Fountains in 1241. An enclosure of this kind,
composed of a number of big stones on end, lies at the low end of the
second pasture on the north side of the river between Yockenthwaite
and Deepdale, and has been described as a Druids' Circle. It is
doubtless one of these monastic "folds."
About Raysgill on the opposite side of the water are some
curious field-names, such as Low Pummell, Middle and Far Hurrells,
Bouthergill, &c. The hills around here rise somewhat precipitously
from the valley, and being partly clothed with wood have a very
romantic appearance. I have mentioned the pass from this point
into Littondale, a wild mountain walk of three or four miles. Mr.
John Beresford, of Raysgill, I may add, has in his possession various
interesting relics, including an original censer used in one of the pre-
Reformation churches.
Passing Yockenthwaite and romantic Deepdale we observe the
Cowside farm on the south side of the river, where are some old
hippins', and the bank opposite is known as Hippin-Stone Hill, not
Whipping-Stone, as erroneously given in the Ordnance maps. A mile
or so beyond and we come to Beckermonds, where the two main
feeders of the infant Wharfe unite. The principal of these streams
comes down the wildly-beautiful glen of Oughtershaw, while the other
descends from Greenfield Knot, the western limit of the grand old
Chase of Langstroth. The scenery all round is romantic and
picturesque, and strongly tempts us to linger. But there are no inns
in this out-of-the-way part of the valley and few houses, and if we are
intending crossing the Cam or Greenfield into Ribblesdale we must
start betimes, with plenty of daylight before us.
The Lodges were an old family at Beckermonds, having been
connected with this district for many centuries. A family of the
OUGHTERSHAW HALL LANGSTROTHDALE.
497
name was living at Huckden in the time of Richard II. Robert Lodge
was living at Meckermonds two centuries ago, and from him descend
the Lodge family of the Rookery in Bishopdale. Dr. Richard Lodge,
horn in 1794, a well-known physician at Hawkshead, was of the
same stock, and his daughter, Anne Elizabeth Lodge, married the
Rev. T. Leach, vicar of Thornton-in-Lonsdale. Two of their sons
are clergymen, and a third, .Mr. Richard Ernest Leach, M.A., K.L.S.,
&C., is the present head-master of Appleby Grammar School.
There is an amazing amount of interest in this remote valley,
but as this work has already greatly exceeded its intended limits, I
must perforce be brief. We will therefore now ascend the pleasant
road which leaves the main valley at Beckermonds, and a short two
miles will bring us to Oughtershaw. All around we perceive
indications of the immense labour that has been expended, and the
taste that has been displayed in improving and beautifying a
naturally wild and elevated tract of country. Here we are about
1,300 feet above the sea. Much of the land was formerly in the
hands of small proprietors, but about sixty years ago was purchased
in lots by Mr. Basil George VVoodd, of Hillfield, Hampstead, whose
son, the late Mr. Chas. H. Lardner Woodd, laid out considerable
sums in reclaiming and draining large extents of the surrounding
moors. He also planted and in other ways greatly improved the
aspects of the place.
The Hall, which overlooks a romantic reach of the little
mountain-river, shewn in the accompanying plate, was commenced
in 1850, and is a handsome and well-fit-up building, the envy, one
would think, of even a seasoned townsman. Many things of interest
have been collected together by the interested owners of the estate,
and in the dining-room is a curious implement of oak obtained from
a neighbouring bog. Round about are lush meadows and pastures,
where one may gather primroses and cowslips, orchids, and heaps of
sweet buttercups and daisies. The village looks a model of cleanness
and comfort, and its pretty school-house, with Norman porch, quite
tempts us to step inside. On Sundays services are held in the
school-house, which is also licensed by the Bishop for the
administration of sacraments. The nearest church is at Hubberholme,
six miles distant.
The whole estate, extending to the source of the river on Cam
Fell, is now the property of the Rev. Trevor Basil Woodd, M.A., LL.B.,
vicar of St. Peter's, Buckingham Gate, London, eldest son of the late
Mr. Chas. H. L. Woodd, mentioned above. Mr. Woodd, together
with other members of the family, fully upholds the good traditions
of his parents in taking the liveliest interest in every measure
calculated to improve and beautify the ancestral domain. In former
years he and his brother, Mr. Chas. Hampden B. VVoodd, took
especial delight and devoted considerable time in studying and
investigating every aspect of the grand upland country where they
lived. Its geology, meteorology, botany, and natural history generally
were followed and noted with the keenest interest, and some of their
contributions to the Naturalist, particularly on the flowering plants of
the district, are genuine aids to science. Some 300 species of plants
have been recorded by them as flourishing within a few miles' radius
of Oughtershaw, and these include some very uncommon species, as
well as records of plants found at altitudes elsewhere unknown in
Yorkshire. No doubt draining and planting have contributed to raise
SWARTHGILL, THE HIGHEST HOUSE IN WHARFEDALE.
the altitudinal range of some of the species. The common sycamore,
it may be noted, has been found, together with the purple fox-glove,
self-sown in a pot-hole near Oughtershaw Tarn, at an elevation of
i, 800 feet above the sea.
Some distance above Oughtershaw we come to the lonely farm
of Swarthgill, the last inhabited house in the valley and the highest
within the watershed of the Wharfe. Its altitude is about 1,300 feet,
and there are evidences of ancient glaciers in the vicinity. All
around sweep the gaunt hills and green and purple moors,
— those wastes of heath
Stretching for miles to lure the bee,
Where the wild bird on pinions strong-,
Wheels round and pours his piping song,
And timid creatures wander free."
499
A^ (UK- of the last haunts of wild deer in Yorkshire, the ancient
Chase of Langstrothdale is particularly memorable, and many a time
must the blast of horn and the baying of hounds have echoed among
these grand impressive solitudes. Buck-hunting in Langstrothdale is
recorded in their annals by the monks of Bolton, and there are main
who think that when King James VI. was on his way from Scotland in
1603 to accede to the throne of England, he and his party enjoyed a
day's hunting in the neighbouring Forest of Wensleydale, as the
guests of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, of Nappa Hall. This is an old
tradition, although there is little evidence to support it, as explained
in my work, Romantic Riclimondshire, pages 466-7. But in an event
of such importance the keepers and foresters for many miles around
would no doubt have been invited to accompany the royal party, and
Mr. Woodd informs me that in 1893, while exploring the high moors
between Langstrothdale and Wensleydale, he picked out of a peat
bog a coin of the reign of this monarch. The coin was in fair
condition, and bore the name and legend of James VI. of Scotland.
But whether it can be connected with the incident I have related is,
of course, questionable.
Mr. Woodd likewise informs me that some years ago a workman,
while removing a stone on the Cam Road, found beneath it some
thirty or more silver coins of English and Scottish Kings of the latter
part of the i4th century. No doubt during the Border raids this was
one of the old roads into Yorkshire from Scotland and Carlisle
through Mallerstang, and this small hoard has been concealed
probably on the occasion of a sudden surprise. A gold coin of the
same period was discovered at Burnsall. (See page 402.)
But now we are approaching the end of our long and pleasant
journey. Following the beck upwards, the source is at last gained
in a swampy bottom on the lonely moor, some two-and-a-half miles
above Oughtershaw. Nor sound nor sign of life disturbs the
impressive silence of the great expanse of wild unpeopled fell.
A little bubbling spring, true "child of the clouds,'' and -that is all
we see ! Here then I must bid adieu to the romantic region of the
Upper Wharfe, seeking him who uttered nothing base to sing the
paean of our meeting and of our parting at the birthplace of the
classic stream of our Motherland :—
To chant thy birth, thou ha^t
No meaner poet than the whistling" blast,
And Desolation is thy patron saint!
She guard- thee, ruthles- power ! who would not spare
Those mighty forests, once the bison's screen,
Where stalked the huge deer to his shaggy lair
Through paths and alleys roofed with darkest green,
Thousands of years before the silent air
Was pierced by whixxing shaft of hunter keen !
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'Haxvkyard, Dr. A., Hunslet.
Haygarth, Thomas, Keighlex-.
Hay wood, James R., Otley.
Head, Herman, Huddersfield.
Heaton Mrs., L'nderclilte.
503
llcwgill. Rev. \\"., M.A.. Farnworth.
I lex , I Ian v, Savile Town.
Hick, I-!.. Horstorth.
Ilinrhlilie, (',,•«. II., Leeds.
Hind, Wm. Harley, Bradford.
Hirst, J. B., Eldwick.
Hi-coke & Son, Richmond.
Hiuhman, J. & Co., Sheffield (2).
Hot.kirk, Chas. 1'., F.I..S., Ilkley.
I lobson, J. I-".. Durham.
'Holden, Angus, M.P., Nun Appleton.
Holmes, F., Ilklcy.
*Holmes, Rev. II. C., Hirkby K.-ctory(i)
Holmes, Mrs. Josi-ph, Shipley.
Holmes, Lionel, Steeton in Craven.
Holmes, \V. II., B.C.I.., Truro, Nova
Scotia.
II o,,«l, F. M., Ilkey.
Hopkinson, John, F.L.S., F.G.S., St.
Albans.
*Hopper, Chas., C'roft Spa.
Home, \Vm., E.G.S., Leyburn.
*Howarth, J. H., F.G.S., Halifax.
Unwell, Kd., Liverpool (2).
Howes. Rev. A. P., Bolton Abbey.
Hunter, Fred T., Otlev.
"Hurst, Josh. S., J.I'., Coptthewick Hall.
I lutchinson, John II., Calterick.
Hyde Arthur, Bradford.
INGII.HY, SIR HKNKY I). BART., RIIM.KY
CASTLE.
Ing-ham, \\*m., B.A., York.
Inman, Henry, Kilnsi \ .
Irving, Rex-. K. ('.., Ra-trick.
JACKSON, HAI«;KKAVI-:S,
James, Philip, Brough.
Jefferson, R. J., Stirton.
Johnson, Walter, Northallerton.
Johnson, \\'m. I., Bradford.
*Johnston, James, M.H., Manning-ham.
Jones, Ceo. F.. I .K.I.H.A., Malton.
*KlTSON, Sirjanie^, Bart., M.I'., Leeds.
Keighley, Alex., F. R.I'.S., Steeton.
Kendall, Rev. W. C., Ax--garth Stn. (2).
Kidd, Wm., Otl.-y.
Kitlson, Francis J., Leeds.
Killingbeck, John, Kidderminster.
Kirby, R. I.., I.inthorpe (j).
Kirk, Mrs., Ingleton.
Kirkxvood, Stephen, Bramley.
*Kitehing, T., Mor--cambe fi ).
*Knowles, C'. II., Harrog-ate.
*Kno\vlcs, John, Kirkby Lonsdale.
Knubley, Rev K. P., M.A., Steeple
Asliton.
5°4
*LUPTON, WM. C., Mayor of Bradford.
Lambert, Abm., Harrogate.
Lancaster, W., Bradford.
Laycock, W. H., Keighley.
La/en bj% James, Bradford.
**Leach,R.E.,M.A.,F.L.S.,&o.,Appl'by.
Latimer, T., Pudsey.
Leadman, Alex. D. H. , F. S. A. , Pock'gton
*Leigh, Rev. N. Egerton, Kirkstall V'age
Leonard, F., Huddersfield.
Leonard, T. A., Whitby.
LIBRARIES —
*Bingley Public Library (i).
Blackburn Free Library & Museum.
Bolton Subscription Library.
Boston Public Library, Mass. , U. S. A .
Bradford Church Institute.
* Bradford Fret Libraries (12).
*Bradford Hist, and Antiq. Society.
Bradford Nat. Hist. & Micros. Soc.
Bradford Mechanics' Institute.
Bradford Subscription Library.
Burnley Mechanics' Institute.
Cardiff Free Library.
Chicago, Newberry Library.
Clitheroe Free Library.
Darlington, Edwd. Pease Pub. Lib.
Derby Public Library.
Dewsbury Public Library.
Edinburgh Public Library.
Glasgow, Mitchell Library.
Halifax Public Library.
Harrogate Public Library.
Hull Public Libraries (4).
Ilkley Library Co., Ld.
Keighley Institute.
Leeds Church Institute.
Leeds Circulating Library.
*Leeds Free Libraries (6).
*Liverpool Public Library.
*Manchester, Cheetham Library.
*Manchester Free Library.
Middlesborough Free Library (2).
Newcastle-on-Tyne Public Liby. (2).
Oldham Free Library.
Otley Mechanics' Institute.
Pudsey Mechanics' Institute.
Rochdale Free Library (2).
St. Helens Central Library.
Sheffield Public Libraries (6).
Shipley, Salt Schools.
South Shields Public Library.
Wakefield Book Society.
York, Bootham School.
York, Philosophical Society.
*Liversedge, F. J., Manningham.
*Lofthouse, J. H., Harrogate.
Longbottom, David, Silsden.
*Lucy, Chas. F., Pickering.
Lumb, G. Denison, Lei •<•!•-.
""Lumby, Wm., Aysgarth.
*Lupton, Arthur, Burnley.
Lupton, Albert, Burnley.
Lupton, Ben)., Burnley.
*Lupton, J. T., Burnley.
* Lupton Bros., Burnley (6* and 6).
Lyon, J. F., Leyburn (2).
*MASHAM, RT. HON. LORD, Swinton.
*Marsham-Townshend, Hon. Robert,
London.
*4tMeysey-Thompson, Sir Henry M.,
Bart, M.P., Kirby Hall.
*McCormack, Dr., Otley.
*Manby, Frederic, Skipton.
Marriner, A. H., Keighley.
Marriott, Chas. H., J.P., Dewsbury.
Marshall, A., Otley.
Marston, Jas., Otley.
*Mason, Chas. Letch, Leeds.
*Mason, Rev. J. Wharton, Marrick.
Mason, Philip B., J.P.,Burton-on-Trent
*Mason, Richard, Liverpool.
Maude, Rev. Arthur, Burgh Rectory (2).
*Maude, W. C., Bournemouth.
''Matthews & Brooke, Bradfd (20* & 36)
Mellor, Henry, Paisley.
Metcalfe, James, Barnoldswick.
Metcatfe, John, Bradford.
*Metcalfe, John Hawkridge, J.P.,
Pateley Bridge (i).
Metcalfe, Reginald, Cape Town, S.A.
Metcalfe-Gibson, Mrs., Ravenstonedale
**Miles, James, Leeds (6).
Milligan, Wm., Otley.
Mills, F. W., F.R.M.S., Huddersfield.
*Milne, S. M., Calverley House.
*Milnes, Eli, F.S.I., Bradford.
Milnes, W. H., Wakesfield (2).
Mitchell, Mrs. Hy., Harrogate.
*Mitchell, Wm., Bradford.
*Moore, J. W., Bradford.
Moorhouse, Jas. Ellison, Shipley.
Morrell, Wm. Wilberforce, York.
*Morrison, Walter, M.P., London (2).
Mortimer, E., Halifax (3).
Moser, Jacob, J.P., Manningham.
Moss, W. H., Otley.
Muff, Frederick B., Ilkley.
Muff, Henry, Bradford.
*Myers, Satnl. Peel, Bradford.
Mylne, Beatrice, Leeds.
5°5
; NOKI OLK, His GKACI-. mi: |)IKI-:OI,
KAKI, MARSHAL, London,
lor, !•:., Bradford (i)
"Neslicld, Ceo. Blow, London (i).
licid, G. S., Scarborough.
NYvison, C. E., Darling-ton.
"NcwMcad, Chr. [., Otley.
NewMead, Henry f., Otley.
Newton, \Vm., Laisterdyke.
Nicholls, C.J.C., Skipton.
"Nicholson, John S., Livc'rpool.
North of England School Furnishing
('<>., Sunderland (3).
'"Norwood, Major \V., Wakelield.
Nutter, J., Hradford.
Nunweek, J., Ingrow.
-OXFORD, RT. REV. THE LORD BISHOP
of, Cuddesdon Palace, Oxon.
Oddy, John G., J.P., Addingham.
Oldfield, Ceo., Bradford.
'•Oldfield. G. W., M.A., F.E.S., London.
"Oxley, Mrs. C., Weybridge.
POVVKI.I., SIR FRANCIS S. BART, M.I'.,
Bradford.
'"Pilkington, Sir Gco., M.P., Southport.
I'a^ci, Misses K. & A. Skipton (i).
Pallister, J.\\'., B. Sc., Heading-lev.
*Park, Ceors^e, Ilkli-v.
':;Parke, C,. H., F.L.S. &<-., Wakefield.
''Parker, Major J., Browsludme Hall ( i ).
Parker, [aines, (it. Horton.
Parkinson, Rev. T., North Otterington.
Parsons, \\'aker, Apperley Bridg-e.
*I'atchott, Alfred, Southport.
Patchett, John, Bradford.
*Pattison, Frank W., London (i).
Pawson, A. H., I-'arnley.
Peacock, F. Gillet, Crossbills.
Peck, H. W., Hunsl,.(.
Pepper, Wm. F., J.P., Arthington.
1'ickering, Rev. Robt., M.A., Cowgill
X'icarage.
"i'ickles, John, Keighley.
Pickles, Stephen, Stopes.
"Pitcher, \V. N. <K: Co., Manchester (i).
"Pitts, ]., Otley.
Platt, \V. II., Moorhead, Shipley
Pollard, Collingwood, Bradford (i)
Poole, Richard, Bradford.
Poppleton, J. Eyre, Pontefract.
*I'oppleweIl, J. B., Beacon Hill, Ilkley.
Potter, Robt., Halifax.
*Proctor, Geo., Thornton-in-Craven.
*Proctor, Richard, Burnley.
Pullein, Miss C., Rotherfield.
x, Mos; HON. NIK MAR<JI-IS 01 ,
Studley Royal.
n, \Vm., Keighley.
Randall, Joseph, Sheffield.
*Ratcliffe, Chas., G., J.P., Colne.
Reynolds, Richard, F.I.C., Leeds.
Rhodes, Joseph, F.J.I., Keighley.
"Rhodes, W. Venables, C'leckheaton.
•"'Riddioiigb, J. T., Frizingball.
Roberts, Thomas, Burnley.
Robertshaw, Smith, Bingl'
Robertshaw, William, Keighley.
*Robinson, Arthur J., Clitheroe Castle.
Redfearn, Rev. Jas., Silsclen.
Robinson, S.. Barnoldswick.
Robinson, Mrs. YVm., Sedbergh.
Roebuck, Wm. Denison, F.L.S., Leeds
Ross, Percival, A.M.Inst.C.E., Wibsey
Roundell, Chas. S., Xantwich.
Rowntree, \\"., J. P., Scarborough.
Rudd, R. IL, Bradford.
Ryder, John, Bradford.
'S.\vi.;-Axn-Si-:i.K, RT. HON. LORD,
Reading.
Sayner, John, Harrogate.
Scott, A. A., Manningham.
"Scott, John, jun., Skipton-in-C raven ( i).
Senior, Albert, Heckmondwike.
Severs, Dr. (n-o., London.
"Sewell, P. R., Liversedge.
*Shackleton, F. R., Sydenham.
Share, Rev. F. A. C., Linton Rectory.
Sharp, Rev. Richard, Skipton.
Sharpe, Jacob, Leeds.
Shaw, (iiles, Southport.
Sheard, Michael, Isle of Ely.
Shuffrey, Rev. \\T. A., M.A., Arncliffe.
Shuttleworth, J., Ilkley (6).
Sim, I)., Draughton.
*Simpkin, Edmund, C. E. , Bury.
Sinclair, J. F., Otley.
Singleton, James, Leeds.
*Skidmore, Chas., Bradford.
*Slicer, John, Idle.
*Slingsby, F. W., Red House, nr. York.
Slingsby, Thomas, Keighley.
Smith, Armistead, Keighley.
Smith, E., Otley.
Smith, H. R., Bradford.
"Smith, II. Sutcliffe, Harrogate.
*Smith, Richard, London.
Smith, Mrs., Bingley.
Smith, Prince, jun., Keighley.
*Sowden, John, A.M,, Bradford.
Sowden, W. M., Bradford.
50 6
Speight, Alfred, Hraclford.
Speight, Miss May, Grassington.
Spring, Franci-- \\'., Keighlej-.
Stavert, Rev. \Vr .[., Burnsall Rectory.
Stechert, G. E., London (2).
*Stevens, B F., and Brown, London (2).
*Stead, John J., Heckmondwike.
*Stephenson, Joseph, Combe Down.
Stockdale, J., Burnsall.
Stockdale, Wm., Liverpool.
*Stokes, John, M.D., Sheffield.
Streets, J. E., Silsden.
Strange, Alfred, Burnley.
*Sugden, Craven, Silsden.
Sunderland, H., Silsden.
*Sunderland, John, Skipton.
••Sutrliffe, F. J. Ramsbottom.M.Inst.C.E.
&c., Bradford.
Sutcliffe, J. B., Fremington.
Swire, Tom, Keighley.
Sykfs, Arthur F., Bradford.
Sykes, Rev. W S., Millom.
: TKMPKST, SIR ROBT. T., BART., 'Pong
Hall.
Tacey, \Vm. G., Bradford.
Taylor, Rev. R. V.,B.A.,Melbecks V'ge,
*Teale, T. P., Leeds.
Tempest, Mrs., Broughton Hall.
*Tennant, Cecil, F.S.A., London.
*Tennant, Eleanora H. S., Clitheroe.
"Tennant, Hugh, Derby.
""Tennant, Philip, London.
Terry, Percival, M.A. (Oxon.), Retford,
*Thompson, Alderman, Wimslow.
Thackeray, Chas. W., Bradford.
Thompson, J., Burnsall.
Thrippleton, John, Leeds.
Tolson, Legh, Dalton.
*Topham, Lupton T., Lutterworth.
*Turnbull, Thomas, Otley.
Turner, Benj., M.I. A., Barnslev.
Turner, T., Skipton.
Twisleton, T., Burley-in-Wharfedale (2)
VARI.KY, JOHN, C.E., M.S.A., Skipton.
*Vickers, T. R. & G., Ilkley (12).
*WADSWORTH, F. Cleckheaton.
Waddington, S, Bingley.
\Valbank, X. H., Bingley.
Walker, A. W. Iliiisley, M.I).,
Harrogate.
Walker, Alfred, Bradford.
Walker, Edmund, Otley.
***Walker, Henry, Leeds (6)
Walker, John, Gilstead.
Walshaw, Thomas, Wakefield.
Walton, F. F., Dr. F.G.S. &c., Hull.
Ward, J., Whitel y, J.P., Halifax.
Ward, H. Snovvden, London, N.
Ward, Thomas F., Middlesborough.
Wardman, George, Leeds.
Wardman, Robert, Manchester.
*Watson, Charles, Southport.
Watson, Thomas, Leeds (2).
Whalley, Arthur, Bradford.
Whitaker, F., Bolton Abbey.
Whitaker, James, Otley.
Whitaker, J. H., London.
Whitaker, Wm., Otley.
Whiteley, James, Oueensbury.
Whiteley, John, Barnoldswick.
Whitwell, Wm., F.L.S., London.
Wilkinson, J. H., F.R.G.S., LeecN.
Wilkinson, Mrs. M., Bingley.
Wilkinson, Thomas, Manningham.
Wilkinson, Wm., Bishop Auckland.
Wilks, S. L. Butterworth, Grassington.
Willans, Fred, Edinburgh.
Wigley, J. M., Lancaster.
*Wilson, Bernard, Sedbergh.
Wilson, Charles, M., Sheffield.
Wilson, Harold I., M.A., Linton.
Wilson, J. E., Ilkley.
Wilson, John H., J.P., Harrowgate.
Wilson, J. Mitchell, M.D., Donra-ter.
*Wilson, J. R. Robinson, Lee<N.
Wilson, S. E., Manningham.
Windle, Darius, Barnoldswick.
Woodd, Rev. T. Basil, M.A., LL.B.,
Oughtershaw Hall (2).
Woodiwiss W., Cnllingworth.
Woolley, Alfred, Bradford.
Worden, W. J., Southport.
Wright, James, Keighley (2).
* Wright, Samuel, Bradford (i).
Wroot, Herbert E., Bradford.
*Wuj^zburg, John, J.P., Leeds.
*YORKE THOS., E., Bewerley Hall.
* Young, H. Tweed, Huddersfield,
5°7
INDEX OF SURNAMES.
AlUtoi T, 221). Haililon, 42, 203, 304. Blackstotic, 4(1, 3* -v
Ackroyd, 73, .So. Bailey, 69. Blake, 438.
Adams, m, 52. Baines, 456, 466. Blakey, 326.
Agricola, i8,S, 207, 425. Hainton, 167,213. Blund, 284, 377, 394, 3-.
Albany, 102. Bake, 486. Blencowe, 40 [ (Ted.)
AJbemarle, 298, 322, 366, 467. Baldwin, 325, 326 (Ped.) Blenkinsop, 352, 3S3-
Albini, 413. Bancroft, 339. Boiling, 211, 221, 223.
Alcock, IK), 373, 31)4, 3<><>. Bank-;, 181, 249. Bnnef'annt, 50, 68.
Aldersley, 339. Barber, 85, 338 (Ped.) Boocock, 338.
Aider-son, 251. Bancroft, 461 (Ped.) Booth, 122, 384.
Alenian, 409. Barden, Berden, 297. Boott, i46(I'ed.)
Allen, 197, 233, 237, 23.S. Barker, 56, 66, 68, 72, 85, 86, Bowden, 438.
Allerlon, 2iS. 270. Bowet, 49.
Allott, 124. Barlow, 140 (Fed.) Bowling, 206.
Altaripa, llaltaripa, 21)7,323. Barraclougfb, 80. Boyd, 19, 483.
Ambler, 3X2. Barrowe, 378. Bovlf, 305, 306, 307 (Pcd. )
Ampletord, 146 (Ped.) B.irter, i46(Peil.) 393.
Anderson, 41 1. Barton, 326 Bradloy, Bradlay, 2i.S, 25*,
Andcrton, 146, 495. Bate>;. 283. 334.
AmNell, 346. Batty, 397. Braithwaite, 51 >.
Ang-u-;, 33, 204. Bawdwen, 325. Branihall, 141.
Antoninus 188, 1114, 197,430, Bayles 384. Bramley, 27<), 2,Si.
465. Baynbritfffe, 100. Brandon,
A])])U ton, 72. Beanland, 442. Breare, 272.
Arches, 407, 4<*>, 470, 487, Beanlands 160, 21 1, 2 1 ^, 223, Breary, 101,212
4.S(). 33-S. Brereton, 416.
Armitagv, 211. Beauclei'k, 307 (Ped.) Brii^, 335.
Armstrong-, 72. Beelie, 207. Hriggr, 225.
Arnold, I4.S, 155. Beck, if-x). Briggs, 25^, 251), 2<>o ( Ped. )
Arnold-l-'orster, 144, 153. Bede, 33. Brighouse, 25^.
Arthington, 100, 124. Bell, 215. Brivtow,
Arundcl, 305. Bt-llasis, 441. Broca-, 175.
.\-kt-, o^, 404. Benu-slay, 330. Bronte, 227.
Askwith, 170. Benson, 52, 85, 14*, 247, 21)4, Broughton, 444, 401.
Aston, 410. 2<»7, 320, 346, 34-S, 304, ^- -, Brown, 51, 81, 105, 143, 146
AthelMan, 35, 37, 38. 43, 45, 402, 414. (Ped.), 4^, 401 (Ped.)
40, 60. Bentliain, 09, 426. Brou ne, 287.
Athole, 205. Ben-stord, 496. Brownridge, 442
Atkin, 343. Bern u If, 169. Brownrigg, 260.
Atkinson, 128, 129, 130, 378, Bilbrongh, 75. Bruce, IOQ, 138.
410. Bilbyi-, 469. Brumliu, 73, 2i,s.
Avre, 412. Billani, <>7, '»". Brim, 44.
. \vrton, 339, 341. Binnie, 19. Buckden, Bukdene, 487.
A v-congh, 66. Birtwhistle, 339. Bucktrout, 461 (I'ed.)
Bishop, 338. Bulmer, 146 (Ped.), 323, 305,
BAHIVGION, 140. Black, 144, 145, 146. ;NJ.
Backhouse, 249. 338. Blackburn, 204. Burlington, 283, -,oo, 300,
Bacon, 326. Blackic, 90, 430. 335.
=;oS
Burnley, 129, 136-
Burton, 136, 204, 296, 299.
Bury, 394, 462.
Busfield, 86, 196.
Bustardbank, 173.
Butterfield, 203, 220, 339.
Bynns, 146 (Fed.)
Byron, 41.
C/EDMON, 189, 275.
Cu'sar, 187, 231, 270.
Call, 232, 233.
Calverley, 61, 63, 67, 140,
'57. 392.
Calvert, 438, 440.
Canute, 390, 423.
Canham, 120.
Carr, 103, 181, 294, 322, 335,
346, 353. 397-
Carlisle, 307 (Fed.), 342, 393.
394. 43 i. 446, 469-
Carlyle, 90.
Camden, 57, 188.
Carter, 164, 166.
Carterson, 279.
Carus, 68.
Gary, 79, 180.
Cassell, 146 (Fed.)
Cave, 71.
Cavell, 394.
Cavendish, 306, 307 (Fed.),
438, 491.
Ceretic, 435.
Chad wick, 73, 401.
Chamber, 295.
Chamberlain, 249, 341, 455.
Chancellor, 69.
Chapman, 446, 488.
Chaucer, 77, 92, 100, 493.
Chesham, 307 (Fed.)
Chetwood, 123.
Child, 130.
Chisman, 339.
Chrysostom, St., 30.
Cirencester, 185.
Clapham, 68, 85, 140, 148,
149, 150, 151, 317, 329. 330-
335. 424-
Clarence, 146 (Fed.)
Clark, 144, 154,372,373,381, 44
Clarkson, 68, 85.
Clay, loo, 166.
Clayton, 249, 339, 461, 471.
Clifford, 65, 135, 164, 251,
276, 298, 301, 303, 304, 306,
3 '8, 33°. 352, 438.
Clifton, 96.
Close, 129.
Coates, 278, 279, 283.
Cobden, 283.
Cobley, 82.
Cockshott, 281.
Coleridge, 53.
Colling, 181.
Collingwood, 35, 61, 62, 239,
392.
Collis, 146 (Fed.)
Collyer, 206, 221.
Columba, St., 116, 293, 363.
Commodus, 197.
Constable, 49, 73, 75.
Conyers, 44.
Cook, Coke, Kooke, 141,
223, 353, 4i7-
Cooper, 68.
Cork, 361.
Corker, 68.
Cottingham, 317.
Coulthurst, 335, 336, 342.
Cowgill, 56.
Cowper, 236.
Cox, 350.
Cranbrook, 278.
Craven, 138, 329, 370, 371,
372, 373, 38r, 396, 397. 398,
401, 426.
Crawshaw, 206, 335, 414.
Crofton, 142, 151.
Croft, Crofts, 73, 84, 260,
294. 348, 414-
Croker, 63.
Crompton, 486.
Cromwell, 54, 55, 146 (Fed.),
168, 178, 441.
Grossman, 326.
Crosse, 461 (Fed.)
Crossfield, 75.
Crown, 339.
Crowther, 69, 430.
Cryer, 276.
Cudworth, 195, 196, 215, 216,
233-
Culpepper, 180.
Cumberland, 267, 296, 298,
304, 330, 351, 393, 438,
i 461 (Fed.), 476, 491.
Cunliffe, 278, 279, 281, 284.
Currer, 143, 245, 246, 247,
248-9 (Fed.), 257, 258, 335,
338, 340. 341, 44°, 477-
Curry, 130.
Curtis, 86.
CuthbcTt, St., 81, 292, 293,
294, 3"-
Cutler, 178.
Cuttriss, 384.
DADE, 69.
Dallin, 55.
Darcy, 368, 369.
Darwin, 67, 133, 135, 138.
Davis, 442.
Dawson, 28, 56, 69, 80, 85,
138, 164, 1 66, 170, 260, 338,
381, 461 (Fed.) 484.
Day, 1 46 (Fed.)
Dayes, 93.
Dean, 183, 410, 420.
Decius, 29.
Deighton, 73.
Demaine, 356, 3S3, 384.
Dennison, 68.
Denton, 169, 173.
Devonshire, 214, 267, 306,
307 (Fed.) 308, 315, 336,
342, 357, 446.
Dewhurst, 75.
Dibb, 382.
Dickons, 196.
Dinsdale, 56.
Dixon, 97, 105, 478.
Dobson, 202, 218.
Dodgson, 426.
Dodsworth, 177, 292.
Dolphin, 364, 454.
Domitian, 186, 197.
Donovan, 146 (Fed).
Douglas, 257.
Downe, 81.
Draghton, 334.
Drew, 62.
Dringhel, 376, 388.
Driver, 137.
Dufton, 169.
Dugdale, 177.
Duncan, 79, 80.
Dunn, 66, 461 (Fed.)
Dunwell, 56.
Dymoke, 388, 389.
Dyneley, 66, 124, 135, 136,
'37- '38-
EDDY, 438.
Edwards, 461 (Fed.)
Edwin, 288, 289, 292, 295.
Egerton, 178, 307 (Fed.)
Elenson, 161.
Elgood, 414.
S°9
Flier-haw, 138.
Kills 107, 246, 278, 454, 470.
KllUon, <>8, 330, -5(17.
Fl-ey. 210.
FmmoU, 376.
Fngland, ~,<i, 128, n>8, 330, 341.
I . \IRBANK, 85.
Fairfax, 53, 54, 55, 05, <*>,
71, 78, 05, 104, i()i, 172-
184, --13. 281, 370, 3*1.
Fan-all, 442.
Farrer. 495.
Fauconbridge, 53, no.
Fauvell, 297, 302.
Fawcett, 138, 160, 258.
Fawkener, 307 (Fed).
Fawkes, 40, 56, 69, 79, 82,
X3» 93- 99' IOO> IOI> IO2>
113, in,. 128, 131 155, 215.
Fenton, 214, 215.
Fernehill, 295.
Fernelay, 99.
Ferrand, Fanancl, (>S, S(>,
i 1 8. 258, 259.
Ffaring-ton, 420.
Field, 206.
Fieldhouse, 130, 279.
Fincham, 96.
Finlayson, 466.
Fisher, 84, 103, 417.
I i-on, 67, 139, 140, 146, 148,
'5->. '53. '54. i«3- 233, 237.
Fitz John, 409.
Fitzroy, 307 (Fed.)
Fitzwilliam, 246, 247.
Flesher, 56, 75.
Foggitt, 442.
Foljambe, 105, 246, 307 (Ped.)
Folds, 438.
Forrest, 231, 235.
Forster, 139, 140, 146, 148,
'.S-KS-
Fort, 268.
Fo-u-r, 3°7 (1'ed.) 484, 494.
Fountaine, 415, 410.
I'ourness, 68.
Fowler, 442.
Fox, 74, 82, 2*4.
Frankland, 441.
Freeman, 41, 106.
Frith, 78.
Frost, 60, 69.
( ; \MI« i , [(«), 3ss.
(ianu-lbar, J(><), 275.
(lanu-tt, 70, 79, 85, 87, Sg,
90, 160, 214, 4(11 (Tod )
(iaiTctt, ill.
ii;-|ii-, 175.
(iaunt, 52, 205.
( ..i\ aslon, 3(17.
(icikc, 4Jj.
( icorj^o, St., 197.
Gerard, 354.
G«SI .vS.v ,154-
tiiffard, 105.
(likt-Nwick, 334.
( iildas, 27.
Oill, 154, if>o, 233, 234, 262,
33<5i .V»>- ,w's-
Gilliott, 388, 389.
Gladstone, 146.
Glradhill, 1 46 (Fed.)
( ili-adston, 460.
Godiva, 28.s.
Godmade, 403.
( ioldsmith, 490.
CJoldsboroug-h, 95, 125, 127.
Gomersal, 311, 471.
Gomme, 44
Goodgeon, 248, 249. 331, 341.
Gospatric, 169, 365, 388, 454.
( ;<i-^r, 146 (Feil.)
<">t t. 335-
Graham, 394.
Grainge, 38, 195, 231, 233,
235-
Grandorge, 269, 323.
Granger, 297.
Granville, 307 (Ped.)
Graver, 146 (Ped.)
Gray, 40, 67, 94, 204, 271,
377- 47(1-
Green, Grene, 63, 73, 146
(Ped.), 213, 276, 435.
Greenwell, 468.
Greenwood, 140, 152.
Gregory, 84, 293.
Grenefeld, 46, 167.
Graham, 450, 467.
Grey, 307 (Fed.)
Grimshawe, 430.
Gros, Gross, 298, 366.
Guthrum, 492.
Gyles, 183.
HADRIAN, 29, 194, 430.
Haggas, 339, 341.
Haigh, 33, 41, 185, 199.
Hal.-, 366.
Hales,
I laltdni, 3X7, 492.
Halifax, <>o, 86.
Hall, 56, 184. 280.
Halliday, 307 (Ped.)
Halton, 297.
llamond, Hammond, 414,
425, 471, .)<,->.
I laiT-uii, 75.
Hannam, 73.
Harbottle, 494.
1 larding, 326.
Hardisl
llardulf, 388, 407.
Hardy, 278.
Harewood, IDS, 28^, 307
(Fed.)
I Iargra\-e, 369.
Hargreaves 218, 225.
Hargrove, 96.
Harker, 415, 441.
Harper, 398.
Harrison, 68, 204, 338, 484.
Harthacanute, 329.
Hart, 67, 69, 161, 416.
Hartley, 55, (.7, 143, 202, 326.
Hartlington, He nlington,
297. 3-^3. 35-'- 3'so. 381, 397,
487.
Hart well, 146 (I1.
Hnslani, 75.
Hatfield, 69.
Haryngton, 100.
llauxwoi'lh, 21 1.
Hawkesljury, 246, 307 (Ped.)
Hawksworth, 66, 83, 99, 101,
146 (Fed.), 161.
Hayvvood, 131.
Head, 339.
Hebblethwaite, 148.
Hebden, 297, 388, 397, 438,
454. 455-
Heber, 206, 210, 213, 244,
245, 206, 324, 381, 487, 491,
494-
Heelis, Heles, 146 (Ped.),
335. 402.
Helena, St., 29, 207, 244, 391.
Henderson, 264, 484.
Herbert, 177.
Heiv, St., 33, 293-
Herodotus, 229.
Hrrcules IQI, 23<).
Hewitt, 414, 426.
H<-wsi»n, 19.
Hev, 327.
Jewitt, 432.
Heye, 397.
Jerome, St., 30.
1 1, \ \\nod, 137, 400.
John, 431.
Hilda, 33, 293.
John, St., 198.
Hill, 297.
Johnson, 63, 100, 113.
Hinl, 72, 86, 180.
Johnston, 82, 317, 322.
Hitch, 112, 113.
Jones, 405.
H.ibson, 56.
Jordon, 1 13.
Hoddington, 56.
Hodgson, 211, 257, 467.
KAYK, 90.
Hogg, 56.
Kearnon, 420.
Holgate, Holdgate, 417, 442,
Kelly, 75.
Holinshed, 379.
Kemble, 458.
Holgill, 64.
Kendall, 170, 258, 263, 264
Holkar, 353.
(Fed.) 268.
Hollins, 55.
Kennedy, 229.
Holmes, 123, 21., 233, 335,
Kerton, 356.
356-
Kighley, 94, 166, 297.
Hopkinson, 20, 482.
King, 175.
Hopton, iir.
Kingsley, 481.
Home, 476.
Kipling, 451.
Horner, 330, 477.
Kirby, 160, 181.
Horsfall, 73, 142, 144, 151,
Kirkby, 46, in, 169, 204,
160, 285.
393. 394-
Hothfield, 298.
Kirkeby Malghedale, 334.
Howard, 307 (Fed.), 326.
Kirkeman, 277.
1 lo\vrs, 348.
Kitchen, Hitching, 304, 417.
Howey, 326.
Knolle, 441, 476, 487.
Hubba, 293, 387. 417, 475,
Knowles, 348, 488.
491.
Kyne, 204.
Hudson, 55, 122, 146 (Fed.),
Kvrkehowse, 353.
339-
Hughes, 425.
LACON, 66.
Humphrey, 69.
Lacy, 325.
Husse, 438.
Lamb, 72, 129.
Hutchinson, 55, 105, 440.
Lambert, 54, 104, 112, 216,
Hutton, 49, 384.
394. 4i7» 430. 438-
Hydemann, 461 (Fed.)
Lancaster, 303, 356, 394.
Landseer, 346.
IBBETSON, Hibbetson, 81,82,
Langton, 283.
170, 181, 184, 441, 495.
Lansdowne, 307 (Fed.)
lies, 326.
Lappenberg, 59.
Ina, 399.
Lascelles, 82, 307 (Fed.) 381.
Ingham, 53, 124.
Lawson, 74, 21 1, 212.
Ingleby, 122, 459, 471.
Lawton, 392, 409.
Inman, 370, 383, 384, 470,
Laycock 95.
476.
Leach, Leech, 86, 326, 497.
Irenside, 85.
Lee, 282, 441, 451.
Ivar, 492.
Leeds, 307 (Fed.)
Leland, 94, 487.
JACKMAN, 249.
Lelay, Leathley, 42, no, in,
Jackson, 55, 87, 00, .M.'.
136, 107.
Jaques, 494.
Lepage, 356.
Jemmett, 146 (Fed.)
Leyland, 137, 194, 459.
Jenkinson, 72, 144, 352.
Lister, 211, 216, 223, 271, 278,
Jennings, 85.
283, 335. 356-
Lismore, 307 (Pcd.)
Little, 237.
Limberger, 146 (Fed.)
Lodge, 496, 497.
Lofthouse, 276.
Lottus, in.
Long, 398.
Longbottom, 254, 312.
Longfellow, 85, 86, 120.
Longley, 144.
Longvillers, 303.
I.owcocke, 257, 268, 273.
Lowe, 384, 461.
Lowson, 383, 384.
Lucas, 449, 485.
Lumb, 382.
Lutyens, 326.
Lyndley. in, 125.
Lyttelton 307 (Fed. )
MAC.MILLAN, 449.
Magnus, 64.
Magmisson, 412.
Maitland, 76.
Mai ham, 297, 469.
Malthouse, 378.
Manchester, 307 (Fed.)
Manne, 276.
Manners, 174.
Margaret, St., 391.
Margersion, 120, 210, 223.
Markes, 180.
Mark, St., 198.
Marshall, 74, 213, 339.
Martin, 87, 93, 297.
Marton, 476.
Masham, 279, 283.
Mason, 334, 440.
Matthew, St., 198.
Maude, 85, 125, 140, 143, 146
(Fed.) 147, 245, 246, 248,
249, 258, 264, 416.
Mauleverer, 141, 297, 317,
329. 33°-
Maunsel, 140, 173.
Mawson, 73, 223.
McLandsborough, 89, 93.
Maxwell, 49.
M earing, 204.
Meredith, 129, 130.
Merryweather, 80.
Merton, 50.
Metcalfe, 166, 379, 380, 381,
425, 430, 446, 456, 499.
Mexborough, 124.
Miall, 74.
Michael, St., 411,
MiddJebrook, i<)4, i><s-
Middled m, 40, 53, 158, 204,
-•jo. --.17, ->4<>. 252, J.s.l,
334-
Midgley, 259, -'Si, 4-58.
Milne, 471.
MiliiiM-, 184, 335.
Milthorpe, 129, 146 (Peel.)
Milton, (/o.
Mitchell, 101.
Milton, 216.
MIX-HIT, 205.
Moliaut, 2<)^.
Monck, 307 (Pcii.)
Monk-, 3-58.
Montague, 348.
Montalte, iii, 247, 248.
Moody, 73.
Moorby, 476.
Moon, Moone, 319, 327.
Moore. 330, 384.
Moorhouse, 247, 249, 327,
.135- 337- -II8 (Ped.) 340,
34'. .-542, 359. 3/0, 47«-
Morlev, 267, 317, 329.
Morris 141, 486.
Morton, 136.
Mosley, 55, 141.
Movers, 429.
Moiinsey, 28, 73.
Mowbray, 49, 269.
Muniford, 148.
Mundella, 152.
Murray, 490.
Musgrave, i)_>, 281.
Myers 50, 138, 484.
NAI rscn, 146 (Ped.)
Neale, 56.
Nelson, 377.
Xennius, 31, 185, 435.
Nessfield, 269.
Neville, 303, V4, 366, 368,
380, 47.s, 494-
Newall, 68, 05.
Newby, 122, 335.
Nc\\M>m, 184.
New-lead, 71.
Newton, 416.
Nicholas, St., 208, 277.
Nichols, 461 (Ped.)
Nicholls, 431.
Nightingale, 340, 342, 343.
North, 138.
Norton, 304, 425, 483.
Northampton, 307 (IVd.)
Nowell, 410, 419.
N'ussie, 31)5.
ODDY, 284.
Ogden, 262.
Oglethorpe, 176.
Olal, St., 107.
Oldfield, 335.
Oliver, 08.
Orm, 26/1, 360, 364.
( )sborne, 307 (Ped. )
( >s\v;dd, St., 32.
Otho, 35.
Otley, 50, t>8, 85, 161, 310.
Otterburne, 330
Outhwaite, 146.
PAGE, 56.
Paley, 417.
Palmes, 63, 66.
Paris, 356.
Parker, 104, 248, 431.
Parkinson, 68, 69, 146 (Ped.)
1 80, 281, 282.
Parr, 278.
Pattle, 1 46 (Ped.)
Paulinus, 31, 59, 1 16, 197,
207, 215,
Pawson, 495.
Payne, 51.
Pay t fin, 157.
Peacock, 53.
1'eale, 54.
Pecke, OS.
Peel, 336-
Peir.se, 384.
Pell, 134, 103.
Percy, 108, i 18, 125, i(x), 203,
204, 266, 303, 367, 436, 480,
489, 494.
Peter, St., 31, 453.
Petrie, 236.
Pettigrew, 197.
Petty, Petty!, 260, 2(>S, 327,
35"-
Phillip, 330.
Pickard, 265, 478.
Pickersgill, 278.
Pilking'ton, 281.
Pinkeney, 296, 297.
Pipin, 34.
Plato, 240.
Platt, 477, 478.
Plumpton, 246, 266, 267, 297,
437- 439. 467- 468.
Pli-.sini^ton, 204.
Poictevin, i 10.
Pollard, 227, 249.
Poole,
Popplewell, 161, 210, 259
260, 262.
Portland, 307 (Ped.)
Powell, 56.
Preston, 336, 372, 402.
Price, [Si.
Prior, 2(>3, 267, 398.
Procter, Proctor, 05, <X>. 3<">8,
372, 407, 462.
Ptolemy, 185, 428.
Pullan, 50, 258, 251), 2(«j, 208,
280.
Pulleyn, 66, 122, 141, 146
(Ped.) 140, 158.
Purey-Cust, 435.
RADCMFFE, 425.
Raine, 32, 35, 67.
Raistrick, 131,
Raleigfh, 432.
Ramsay, 35, 320, 374.
Ramsden, 105, 487, 494.
Ramshaw, 87.
Randies, i^s.
Rankin, 458.
Rathmell, 438, 456.
Rawlinson, 128.
Rawson, 138, 141).
Raykes, 257.
Rayner, 402.
Read, Reed, 73, 33^.
Rcdmayne, 414.
Rennard, 56.
Reynold, Reynolds, 21 i, 486.
Richardson, 165, 2-55, 415.
Rickards, 372.
Rille-.ton, 295, 323.
Riley, 77, 270, 399.
Ripon, Hishop of, i ic), 183,
-'i.v .',73-
Ripon, Marquis of, i ^4.
Ritchie, 70, 71, 74.
Rhode-, ;;(), (17, Si, 136, 137,
146 (Ped.), 161, 201, 394.
Rhys, 431.
Roberts, 415.
Robertson, 68.
Robinson, 19, 67, 69, 105, 260,
290, 419.
Roebuck, 442, 487, 489.
Rogers, 86, 246.
Rolleston, 461 (Ped.)
512
Romelli, Rumelli, in, 224,
275, 290, 294, 295, 322, 364,
366, 496.
Roose, 288, 410.
Roundell, 325.
Roucliffe, 267, 437, 438.
Rouse, 1 60.
Rowley, 210.
Rudd, 68.
Rudder, 64.
Rumbold, St., 225.
Rushforth, 249.
Ruskin, 155, 346, 479.
Russell, 330, 441.
Rycroft, 335.
Rypley, 476.
Ryther, 175.
ST. ALBANS, 307 (Fed.)
Sale, 334.
Salt, 152, 153.
Sandham, 283.
Sauer, 297.
Saville, 166.
Saxey, 72.
Saxton, 251.
Scarborough, 268, 440.
Scales, 168, 173.
Scargill, 63.
Scott, 55, 230, 339.
Scriven, 384.
Seebohm, 297.
Semon, 216.
Senior, 156, 220, 224, 283.
Serjeantson, 461, (Fed.)
Settle, 143.
Sewall, 67.
Sewell, 228.
Severus, 187, 188, 431.
Share, 416, 419.
Sharp, 86, 259, 260.
Shaw, 29, 47, 51, 58, 86, 87,
96. 158, 213, 231, 460, 461
(Fed.)
Sheepskanks, 420.
Sheffield, 141.
Sherburne, 53.
Sheriton, 66.
Shertcliffe, 461 (Fed.)
Shuffrey, 19, 483.
Sidgwick, Sedgwick, 99, 294,
348, 414.
Silvester, 137.
Sim. 336, 339. 375-
Simpson, 75, 335, 483.
Skachard, 128.
Skayll, 353.
Skeat, 409.
Skelton, 54, 68, 215.
Sling-sby, 494.
Smith, 96, 128, 137, 138, 202,
210, 276, 353, 355, 416, 417,
476.
Snawden, 56.
Snowdon, Snowden, 210,
214, 303-
Somerscales, 296.
Soppitt, 442, 448.
Sotehill, 354, 437, 438.
Southwell, 339.
Sparrow, 53.
Speight, Speht, Speyht, 206,
207, 248, 257, 296, 338, 339,
356, 423, 426, 432, 433, 439,
462.
Spence, 88, 166, 481.
Spencer, 281, 307 (Fed.)
Sperm, 56.
Spicer, 146 (Fed.)
Spurritt, 335, 378.
Stables, 56.
Standish, 175.
Stansfeld, 211.
Stansfield, 158, 221, 460, 461
(Fed.), 486.
Stanley, 68, 165.
Stanyforth, 105.
Stavert, 369, 372, 393, 397.
Stead 122, 136, 157, 158, 326.
Stedman, 144.
Steele, 270.
Stephenson, 218, 461 (Fed.)
Sterne, 149.
Stevenson, 76.
Stockdale, 397, 401, 438.
Stocks, 56, 68.
Stopham, 163, 164, 166.
Story, 304.
Stott, 130, 335.
Stotte, 276.
Stourton, 253.
Street, 273.
Stubbs, 27, 85, 184, 191, 341.
Stuart, 56.
Suffolk, 299.
Swallow, 130.
Sweet, 433.
Swithenbank, 384.
Swyer, 276.
Sykerham, 63.
TACITI-S, 42, 465.
Talbot, 267.
Tanner, 50, 94, 410.
Taylor, 68, 74, 134, 137, 200,
335-
Teale, 72.
Tebbs, 56.
Tempest, 141, 295, 304, 380,
388, 389, 407, 414, 467.
Tennant, 67, 86, 87, 397.
Tertullian, 30, 191, 397.
Terry, 231.
Tesdaile, 45.
Thackerey, 73, 85, 184. 341.
Thanet, 342.
Thompson, 53, 55, 68, 166,
278, 280, 335, 338.
Thoresby, 38, 49, 93, 133, 189.
Thornber, 336.
Thornton, 330.
Thorn, 389, 402, 453.
Thorpe, 389.
Threshfield, 423, 424, 466.
Thurkilby, 204.
Thurstan, 49, 50, 74.
Thwaites, 63, 174, 175.
Tiddeman, 404, 442.
Timbil, 173.
Todd, 122, 335.
Toller, 417.
Tomlinson, 128, 129.
Topham, Tophan, 56, 394,
401, 476.
Torbrand, 163.
Torre, 67, 95.
Trajan, 194, 465.
Trussebut, 410.
Trower, 69
Tunstall, 90.
Turner, 103, 104, 346, 479.
Tussaud, 218.
Turpin, 330.
Twistleton, 158, 159.
Tyson, 42, 109, 134, 275, 412,
436.
ULCHEL, 42, 109, 169.
Ulf, 388.
Ulphus, 179.
Umpleby, 257, 322.
VARLEY, 395, 396, 415.
Vavasour, 66, 82, 93, 99, 143,
144, 157, 164, 165, 166, 169,
175. 213, 275. 276, 277, 335.
Vere, 53.
Vesci, 135, 163, 164, 409, 413.
Yi -paslan, i<>4.
Virki-rs, 2iS.
\*illi«-rs, 179.
\\'.\DK, s'>. 1 0(1, 144, 218, 225,
247, 24.*-!, 27(1, 4<>X, 469.
Waddilove, 397.
Wainmau. \\ravnfinan, 271,
334. 335-
Wakt-man, 192.
Waldstein, 29.
Walker, 68, 70, 7;,, 75, So, Hi,
85, 131, 141, [46, 172, 414,
410.
Walkingfham, 330.
Wall. 335-
\\'allai-c, 205.
Walsingham, 330.
Waltrt>, Waters, 378, 402.
Wandsworth, 17!).
Warburton, 96, 112, 189, 196.
\\"arcl, 40, 44, 63, 85, 204,
205, 200, 335, 455.
Wardell, 235.
Wardeman, 107.
Warwick, 48(1.
Wasti 11, 384
Waterhouse, 122.
Watkinsim, 146 (IVd.), 211,
335- 336-
Watson, iq, 123, 124, 140,
1 55-
\Va\ it-, 173, 174.
\\"»-atln-rln-a(l, 335.
\\'.-l)l.-y, 140 (IV'I.)
\\"<-l)-.(cr, r<), 77.
XX'cdiiiorc, 151.
\\YMiy, int. tH2.
U'.'lls jot (I'.-d.)
\Vriltwortll, <>t\ I _'S, 325.
Wesley, 71, .^7, 477.
West, 53, 55, 33*.
\\Y-tmorland, 476.
\\Y*t<>n, 167.
\\'f>tf<iyd, 169.
\\Ytlici-ill, 181.
\VliartDti, 221, 260, 354.
Wheelhouse, 336.
Whetelay, 221.
\\'hitakcr, 50, 67, Hi, ,S2, 138,
144, 152, 156, iHH, 2X3, 285,
34<>, 4tH, 420, 426, 4<u.
\Vhiti-hcad, 50, 73, 203.
\Vhithatii, t^H.
Whitting'ton, 124.
\Vickhaiu, 326.
\\'i.t;-i^ins, 146 (l\-d.)
\\'iltVid, St., 33, 35, 191, u>7,
198, 226, 399.
Williamson, 260.
Williams, 105.
Wilkinson, 56, 66, 67, 85, 1^5,
96, 249, 441.
Wilks, 440.
Wilson, 6g, 73, 142, 149, 167,
23«, 397. 4'3. 425. 4»". 4("
(Peel.)
Willi., 153.
Wilson-Todd, i«i.
Windsor, </i.
Wint, 324.
\\Yfitffbuni, 335.
Withni-ll, 394.
Wnodlmusi.', 129.
Wood, 66, H6, 130, 173, 213,
335-
Wo.)dd, 247, 489, 494, 407.
499.
WolsflcV, 394.
\\Y)rds\vorth, 317, 321), 34(1,
480.
Wormald, 1X3.
Worth, 231.
Wortlay, 03.
Wort ley, 277.
Wrangham, 102.
Wrav, 143.
Wraythall, 417.
Wright, 2Ht, 42g, 475.
WriiThlMin, 494.
Wult here, 4<)2.
\\YiNtan, 37.
Wyley, 5''-
Wyvill, tHi, 183.
York, Archhp. of, 37, 3<S, 41,
144, 199, 203, 205, 212, 213,
225, 270.
Yorki', 369, 459, 468.
Young1, 241, 369, 378, 402.
GENERAL INDEX.
The liifiires in hcai'v type denote tin- page where the place is specially described.
ABERKORD, 7^. Bainbridge, 205, 431. Bolton Priory, Records of
Addingham, 27,92, 118, 164 Ballochulish, 87. Eight Centuries, 298.
I9v 248,256, 27O, 337. Bannockburn, 113, 120, 205, (Lanes), 338.
Adel, 26, 27, 30, 77, rot, 112, 276, 300, 322. Percy, 174, 176, 178.
Baptism, pre-Christian, 412. Woods, 309, 345.
Harden, 299, 347, 357, 370. Bordley, 389, 393, 4fx.i.
Forest, 356, 360.
Tower, 350-55.
Bardsey, 136, 247.
Borrans, 411, 431, 475.
Boston, 72, 360.
Botany, 107, 127, 159,165,311,
362, 385, 409, 442, 486, 498.
Boroughbridge, 170, 414.
i23, '40- '59-
Africa, 138, 177, 189, 23
433-
Aldborough, 140, 185, 186.
Alien Priories, 410.
Allerton Mauleverer, 43, 49, Barnsley, 99.
2:53. Barnard Castle, 189.
Almes Cliff, 92, 93, 108, 230, Beamsley, 107, 149, 267, 275, Boundaries, 199, 244, 254.
441. 305, 317, 327, 424. Bowes, 188.
Alnwick, 43. Beacon, 255 441.
Alrestbrd, 419. Beckermonds, 496.
Amerdale, 480, 496. Betston, 356.
America, 27, 70, 120, 180, Bentham, 378.
238, 240, 377, 406, 419. Ben Rhydcling, 221, 231, 242.
Anecdotes, 87, 96, 154, 168, Berwick, Barwick, 295.
211. 223, 283, 309, 310, 342, Berwick-on-Tweed, 51.
346, 358, 376, 399, 456, 478, Beverley, 37, 46, 50, 105.
479. Bewcastle, 256.
Anglo-Saxon settlements, 41. Bewerlev, 369.
Angling, 470, 471. Bickerton, 38, 39, 40.
Angram, 379, 479. Bilbrough, 176, 179.
Animals, prehistoric, 26, 403, Bingley, 32, 41, 51, 59, 68, Brimham, 361.
421, 464. 74, 86, 90, 125, 136, 141, Bronze, early use of, 429.
Appleby, 353, 354, 374, 497. 151, 160, 175, 196, 197, 211, Broughton, 339, 379, 388.
Appletrewick, 297, 302, 329, 242, 247, 248, 258, 259, 370. British Museum, 113, 149.
360, 365, 381, 397, 459, Black Beck, Fell, Hill, 199, British trackways, 27.
476, 477. 244, 255, 272, 290, 449. Buckden, 486, 487. 497.
Appleton, no, 174, 175, 179, Blackpool, 127. Bulmer, 323, 365.
204, 300. Blackstone Edge, 196.
Blea Tarn, 364.
Blencow, 166.
Bolton, Early History of, 287.
Hall, 306.
Prior of, 50, 367.
Priory (Abbey), 50, 56, 68,
Bracewell, 407.
Bradford, 44, 51, 52, 59, 68,
80, 86, 136, 149, 151, 152,
165, 196, 215, 233. 258, 278,
326, 34i. 395- 4 '6- 440, 4.S°-
4S8-
Bradley, 392, 467.
Bramham, 32.
Bramhope, 27, 42, 45, 66, 67,
70, 78, 124, 133, 272, 412.
Brass Castle, 28, 259.
Brearhaugh, 161, 273.
Ardsley, 403.
Armada, 227, 460.
Armagh, 141.
Anility, 69, in.
Arncliffe, 299, 436, 466, 480,
481, 482, 492.
Arthington, 45, 72, 128, 135,
•73-
Asia, 177, 208, 231.
Askwith, 49, 92, 166, 175,
176, 263.
Austwick, 356.
BADSWORTH, 176.
Baildon, 38, 39, 41, 42, 46,
SS, 60.
Burials face downwards, 279.
in stalagmite, 465.
in trees, 406.
in woollen, 247, 417.
upright, 317.
Burley, 28, 46, 53, 66, 67, 72,
81, 139. 167, 203, 249, 286.
105, 125, 205, 208, 256, Burley Wood-Head, 156,
269, 275, 309, 335, 375, 157, 159.
389, 410, 424. Burnham Thorpe, 377.
Priory Compotus, 300, 382. Burnley, 392.
Priory, Description of, Burnsall, 323, 365, 366, 369,
3ii- 37°. 37'.375.378, 383. 387-
Priory, foundation-charter 440, 454, 499-
of, 295. Burton, 46.
Priory, Mason Marks at, Burton Constable, 181.
319, 395. By land, 381.
5' 5
CALAIS, 51.
Calderdale, _•;,('•
( 'alev 1 lall, 102, 129, 130.
Calverley, 08.
Cambridge, 196, 308.
Canada, 136, 160.
Canterburv, 450.
Carlisle, 293, 330, 420, 469.
Carlton, 258, 302, 330.
Carucate in Domesday, 134,
16,3, 200,
Cast Icy, 27, no, 124. 128,
299, 37*.
Caton, 96.
Cat (Jill, 290.
( 'at ton, 310.
Catterick, 215.
Cawood, 37- 4.S. 4". 4<»-
Cavendish Memorial Foun-
tain, 306.
Celtic bird-names, 2^7, 296.
churches, n6, 191, 207,
230, 4(1--.
housesteads, 2<>o, 411.
numerals, 4-52.
-pinning, 405.
tumuli, 255, 272, 2^7, 3113,
421, 402.
Chaddesden, 437.
( 'heshire, 245.
Chester, 186.
Chimnies, origin of, 37(1.
Christ, arms of, j-,s.
Christian relics, early, 30.
symbolism, 118, 100, 197,
198, 2.34, ^3*-
Christianity, early, 29, .30, 31,
.V- 33. 5's- '<>'. 192, .07,
240, 24 1 , 270, .36,3, 435.
Roman, 190, 197.
Churches dedication ol, .32,
5», 207.
Civil War, 5.3, 54, 100, 1.36,
if>8, i7<s, 179, 280, ,305, ,373,
.37*. 383, 4(,s.
relics of, 54, 104.
( 'leckheaton, 30.3.
( leethorpe, 300.
Cleveland, 211, .32.3, 451.
Clifford, 176.
Clifton, 38.
Clithcrof, 1 10.
Clockmaker, early, 267.
Close House, 337.
Coaching, 217, 271.
Collinyham, 32, 07, <>2, 13').
Col lie, 173, iSS,
Connemara, 127.
Collision, 3<j2, 31)4, 430, 459.
Cononli-y, 2(X>, 2(W, 303, 325,
,VO, 330.
Cove Hole, 432.
Coven lale, 478.
( 'overhaul, 476, 477.
Cow ami Calf Rocks, 202,
228, 229, 232, 233, 361.
Cowling, 2<>9.
( 'owner ( 'oles, ^>S.
Cracoe, 299, 3-Vv .3.>7. .V>4-
Craven Mutter, 425.
Heifer, 335.
I hinting in, 471.
Nat. Si x-iei \-, 405.
Cray, 489, 490, 495.
Creskeld, I2S, 135, 138.
Crosses, early sculpt., jc>, 35,
41, 62, 119, 166, 194, 197,
226, 390.
Crucifix, Norman, 410.
( 'uerdale, 492.
Customs, old, 83, 135, 171,
2IO, 212, 247, 282, 355, 398,
411, 418, 419, 432, 447.
Druids' Circle--, j-i, J^M,
430, 496.
Dublin, 62, 225.
Dumbarton, 33.
Durham, 323, 397.
MAST MARION, 320.
Kdensor, 297, 437.
Kdinbro' 249.
Elam, 30, 136, 190, 197.
Klboltoti, 404, 4<>v
Klmete, 30, 31, 191, 225, 404,
435-
l-Jsinore, 145.
|-:is|ack, Helslac, 170, 338,
339- 34°, 44'. 469-
i-'-iy, 303.
l-lmbsay, 28c), 290, 334, 405,
43,v
Wake, 291 , 303.
Priory, 2c>2, 295.
l-'alr, 303.
Ivscrick, 102.
Kscrofl, 242,
ICsholt, 38, 48, 53, 03, 83, 142,
'57- ->03. 354-
Mshton, (xj, 142, 30(1, 381,
4-25- 477-
DAI. i. HKAH, 364.
Fsk, 1 08.
Dalton-Michael, 494.
Fskdalo, 420.
1 )anesmoor, 329.
Fton, 102.
Darlev, 401.
Darlington, 181, 247, 305.
FAIKII s, 230, 233.
Darmstadt, 145.
1 lole, 432.
Dartmoor, 239.
Farnley, 38, 40, 54, 03, (jo,
Dearham, .397.
82, 83, 1,5, (,(>, 99. i 10, i 1.3.
Dent, 127, 167.
"9- '-^5. '55. l()l-
Denton, 38, 53, 81, 109, 172.
Farnlev Wood Plot, 55.
313-
Farslev, 218.
1 )enton, Co. Lincoln, lor.
Felliscliffe, 123.
Derby, 50.
I-'ewston, 95, 141, 370.
I )erbv-hire, 91, 92.
Field-names, 28, 108, 431,
Devil's Apronful, 303.
449, 45*. 4<\-?. 4s"-
1 >e\ onshire, 148, 231.
Fiji, 230, 240.
1 )i wsbury, 59, 393.
Flasb\-, 2(x).
Dog (Dob) Park, 108, i oo.
I'lasby Fell, 93.
Doiicaster, 78, 124, 148. TOO,
l-'leur-de-lis, lirst use ol, 494.
384.
Flodden, 159. 355, 441.
Douk Cave, 479.
Follifoot, i 13.
Dowkabottom Cave, 430,
Fountains Abbev, 99, 125,
404.
170, 382, 389, 409, 459, 491.
Down ham, 135.
Foxhope, 467.
1 )own holme, 381.
Frescoes, 64, 277.
Draughton, 164, 195,264,271,
289, 299, 331, 333, 440.
(iargrave, 249, 335, 336, 341,
Dreblev. 375. 388.
37". 4 ' 4-
Garlands in churches, 400,
493-
Garsington, 436.
Geolog-y, 92, 227, 228, 251,
333- 364. 47«' 474-
Gereburg- wapent., 39, 42.
Gibbeter, 330.
Gildersome, 75.
Gisburne, 55, 437.
Glastonbury, 116, 465.
Gledstone, 325.
Glusburn, 268, 299, 440.
Gowthwaite, 401.
Grassing'ton, 189, 195, 241,
267, 271, 372, 403, 412, 423,
*27, 43.S-
Grassing-ton Moor, 448, 449,
467.
Great Whernside, 93, 479.
Greenhovv Hill, 430, 450.
Grimwith, 388.
Guisboroug-h, 453.
Gunnerside, 387,
Guiseley, 39, 40, 41, 46, 52,
60,69, 74. 79. "2, i'3. '33.
161, 167, 198, 259.
HALEY HILL, 469.
Halifax, 59, 161, 194, 247,
339. 355-
Halton, 288, 289, 297, 326,
334. 338.
Halton Gill, 481, 484.
Hampsthwaite, 195.
Hanlith, 380, 387, 423.
Harden Head, 460.
Harewood, 92, 129, 130, 161,
175. ->47-
Harrogfate, 79, 105, 124.
Hartlepool, 141.
I lartling-ton, 369,377,379,380.
Harwood, 450.
Hawkswick, 356, 379, 481.
Hawksworth, 27, 38, 55, 66,
ior, 103, 161, 243.
Hawkstone, 161.
Hazlevvood, 65, 164, 299, 331,
335. 44 1 •
Headingley, 131.
Healaugh, 33.
Hearth-Tax, 56.
Heathfield, 320.
Hebden, 297, 388., 411, 453.
Heights of Mountains, 22.
Roads, &c., 24.
Towns, &c., 23.
Hell Hole, 384, 458.
1 lelling-don, 124.
Hemingboroug'h, 100.
Heselden, 467, 491.
1 letlon, 3<Sr, 407.
Hexhani, 198, 208.
llcysham, 115.
Hig-h houses, 24, 498.
Hilboroug-h, 377.
Hodder Bridge, 55.
Hole House, 376.
Hollin Hall, 210, 221, 246, 329.
Holy-Wells, 29, 172, 183,215,
244, 282, 293, 390, 402, 444,
453-
Hornby, 303.
Horsforth, 31, 81.
Hooton Pag'nell, 71, 124.
Horsham, 87.
Howber Hill, 257.
Ilowden, 384.
Hubbercove, 387, 417.
Hubberholme, 487, 488, 491.
Huddersheld, 28, 393.
k i: AGE, 92, 229, 242, 360,
407, 465, 470.
Iceland, 461.
Idle, 326, 460.
Ilkley, 27, 39, 59, 77, 79, 86,
92, 150, 185, 258, 437, 473.
Ilkley, Bath Charity, 154.
Church, 207, 267.
Coaches, 217.
Danish Mint, 199.
Grammar School, 212.
Hospital, 214, 216.
Land cultivation, 200.
Market-charter, 204.
Modern, 201.
Museum, 21 1, 215.
Name of, 186.
Prehistoric, 185.
Roman, 186-197.
Semon Conv. Home, 216.
Ing-thorpe, 324, 325.
Ing-leboro', 441.
Ireland, 192, 242, 317.
Isle of Axholme, 269.
Isle of Man, 178, 231, 475.
JACK LAND, 449.
Jacobite rebellion, 56, 206,
357-
KALEGARTH, 367.
Keig-hley, Kig-hley, 74, 175,
184, 197, 236, 280, 338,
339. 34'-
Kensington, 181.
Keswick, 480.
Keswick (Wetherby), 299.
Kettlewell, 30, 299, 427, 459,
473.
Kex Beck, 332.
Kexby, 44.
Kilburn, 77, 93, 389.
Kildwick, 227, 249, 268, 339,
342, 462, 469.
Killingbeck, 131, 299.
Killinghall, 221.
Kilnsey, 86, 230, 365, 433,
440, 464.
Kilns, ancient, 381.
Kirkby Malham, 128, 372.
378.'
Kirkby Malzeard, 99, 269.
Kirkby Overblow, 32, 258.
Kirk Hammerton, 105, 1 16.
Kirklees, 393.
Kirkstall, 135, 136, 218.
Knaresbro', 44, 52, 66, 101,
1 1 2, 203, 266, 280, 402.
Knave Knoll Hole, 405.
Knights of St. John, 379.
Templars, 252.
Kytelwylle, 475.
LADYSMITH, 307.
Lake-dwellings, 229, 465.
Lancaster, 96, 115, 254, 289.
Langbar, 235, 256, 257, 260.
Lang-strothdale, 247, 486,
491.
Lead-mines, 450.
Leathley, 102, 1O7, 127, 143,
1 66, 221, 263, 379, 462, 486.
Leeds, 44, 56, 72, 78, 87, 95,
102, 107, 138, 141, 147, 176,
285, 451.
Leeds (Kent) 180.
Lenchwick, 381.
Leprosy, 50, 51, 94.
Leyburn, 475.
Limber Mag-na, 455.
Limerick, 326.
Lincoln, 420.
Lindley, 39, 63, 100, 107, 1 1 1.
Ling- Park, 264.
Linton (Craven), 389, 390,
394. 395. *09' 425. 426, 436,
440, 441.
5 '7
I.intnn (\Vethcrby), 170.
Litton, 480.
Littondale, 480, 484, 41) i.
Liverpool, 78, 249.
Loft house, 231.
London, 92, 1 18, 238.
Longevity, 97, 123, 124, 417.
Lout;- Preston, 248, 205, 299.
310. 436, 441.
Lords, House of, 43.
Lothersdale, 331).
Low Moor, 164.
Lyards Seat, 360.
MAI-KKING, 433.
Malham, 297, 299, 481.
Mallrmi Moor, 390.
Mallcrstang, 499.
Malton, 50, 365, 381, 409.
Manchester, 78, 186, 196,206,
283, 326, 414, 432.
Manning-ham, 278, 283.
Marlon, 245, 299, 323, 377,
3*9, 4«7-
Marske, 384.
Marston Moor, 54, 104, 182,
3°5- 34 ' •
Maxstoke, 116.
Meaux, 318.
Menston, 38, 54, 55, 66, 120,
139, 141, 145, 159, 161, 218.
Middleham, 459.
Middleton, Myddelton, 167,
189, 194, 20 1, 204, 218, 248,
251.
Minskip, 378.
Morecambe, 127, 309.
Morton, 262, 280.
N.vri'A, 342, 380.
Natural History, 266, 290,
296, 442, 448.
N'essfield, 27, 246, 252, 259,
266, 398, 439.
N'ewall, Newhall, 73, 95, 177.
Newcastle, 183, 304, 326,339,
483-
Newsome, Ncwsholme, 176,
184, 325.
Newton, 157.
Newton Kyme, I 10, 174, 203.
Nidderdale, 29, 85, 100, 184.
Norfolk, 377.
Norton Tower, 330.
Northallerton, 50.
Norway, 422, 484.
Norwich, 101, 177, 420.
Norwood, 370.
Nun Appleton, st'i- Appleton.
Nuremberg, 438.
I >\ I AKIO, 284.
Orkney, 47.
( )rmsgill, 360.
Ornithology, 172, 173, 442,
469, 480.
Open-field system, 2(^7.
Osberton, 105.
Osmaston, 211.
( Mend, 177.
( >swestrv, 374.
Otley, 25, 90, 105, 123, 137,
142, 146, 156, 198, 203, 214,
301, 416, 460.
Otley Angling Assoc., 102.
Bridge, 94.
Charities, 72-3.
Chevin, 26, 27, 28, ^7, 77,
91, 256, 441.
Church, 32, 40, 58, 101,
143-
Gallows, 44, 45.
Grammar School, 71.
Lepers Hosp., 04.
Name of, 28, 34, 39.
Nonconformity, 74.
Philharm. Soc., 102.
Trades, 80, 81.
Vicars, <>N.
Workhouse, 97.
Worthies, 87-90.
Oughtershaw, 494, 495, 497,
499-
Overborough, 140.
Oxford, 308.
PAGAN MYTHOLOGY, 197,
-3*, 3*«, 453-
Palestine, 474.
Pannal, 112.
Pateley Bridge, 74, 168, 171,
364. 383. 430- 446, 45°-
Patrington, 46, 47.
Pcnistone, 247.
Percival Hall, 383, 459.
Penrith, 354.
Phallic worship, 26, 240.
Pickering-, 229.
Plagues, 69, 304.
Plumpton, 439.
Pool, 38, 46, 53, 95, 121, 124,
127, 128.
Pontel'ract, 51, 72, 141.
Population, 23.
Postorth Gill, 359, 360.
Poulton, 127.
Preston, 56.
01 : r,i:< , 13(1.
Oueen's Jubilee, 153. 202,
214.
RAHY C\s 1 1.1-:, 303.
Rainfall, 19, 482.
Rawdon, 175.
Raysgill, 481, 496.
Redcar, 164.
Redshaw Gill, 361.
Reformation, i fleets of, 277,
304, 305, 330, 398, 447.
Relics discovered, 106, 125,
159, 189, 190, 191, 233, 241,
265, 279, 287, 322, 324, 402,
410,411, 427, 462,492,499.
Religious persecution, 277,
330, 455-
Ribchester, 196.
Ribstonn, 173.
Richmond, 44, 51, 181, 256,
3«'. 394-
Riddlesden, no, 246, 247,
248, 258, 416.
Rievaulx, 160.
Rigton, 121, 454.
Rilston, Rylstone, 228, 256,
-">7- 304. 3 '7- 337- 339, 34'-
380, 392, 393, 425, 461.
Riots, power-loom, 284.
Ripley, 52, 78, 141.
Kip<>". 33- 37- 46, 49, .S'- 5-',
69, 78, 124, 280, 383.
Rising in the North, 304.
Risphill, 330.
Romaldskirk, 225.
Roman baptism, 191, iq2,
3^7, 412.
camps, 27, 187, 265, 270,
272.
coins, 28, 29, 194, 2iO, 4^0,
465-
custom, 433.
grave-slabs, 188, 189, 216.
lead-mines, 186, 450.
mile-stone, 195.
roads, 27, 127, 133, 140,
159, 186, 195, 431.
Rome, 59, 65, 176.
Rood-lofts, 65, 493.
5 is
Rugby, 148.
Kumbalds Moor Antiquities,
197, 214, 233. 270.
Hermit, 156, 283.
Military Camp, 242.
Ryedale, 141.
SALTAIRK, 152.
Sanctuary, 37.
Santa Clans, 208.
Saxon '//?', 34, 453.
Scaleber, 109, 143.
Scales, 1 68, 172, 173, 458,
475-
Scandinavia, 240.
Scarborough, 50.
Scotland, 205, 290, 412, 465.
Scottish raids, 120, 167, 205,
300, 322, 331.
Scotton, 100, 141.
Sedbergh, 99, 127, 167, 218.
Sedgefield, 323.
Selby, 52, 397.
Scmerwater, 410.
Settle, 159, 247, 461, 484.
Seven, number, 234.
Shaw Hall, 420.
Sheffield, 8 1, 84, 123.
Sherburn, 37, 46, 47.
Shetland, 47.
Silchester, 207.
Silkstone, 99.
Sili-den, 142, 235, 271, 280,
299.
Simon Seat, 274, 358, 363.
Skeletons discovered, 279.
Skibeden, 295, 299, 338, 340,
359-
Skipton, 48, 52, 56, 57, 68,
78, in, 164, 177, 195, 208,
247, 248, 249, 258, 277, 280,
298, 301, 313, 330, 335.
Skyi'eholme, 364, 382, 383.
Skyrethorns, 417, 421, 422.
Slack, 28.
Sledmere, 409.
Smithies Bridge, 326.
South Duffield, 95, 100.
Sparsholt, 372.
Spen Valley, 303.
Stainborough, 178.
Starbottom, 436, 485.
Stainburn, 99, 102, 108, i 16,
129, 258.
Staveley, 299.
Stead, 66, 157, 158, 159, 296.
Steeton, 53, 437, 438.
Stilling-ton, 211.
Stockeld, 131, 158, 170.
Stockton-on-Tees, 206.
Stonehenge, 236.
Storiths, 296, 299, 331 335,
441.
Swarthgill, 498.
Swastika, 237, 242.
TADCASTER, 28, 79, 133. 378.
Thimbleby, 384.
Thirkleby, 441.
Thirsk, 93.
Thornton in Craven, 339.
Thorp, 46, 467.
Thorp Arch, 32, 67, 71, 244.
Thorpe in Craven, 323, 379,
388, 389, 403. '
Threshlield, 299, 414, 415,
421, 436.
Tliwaites, 175, 176, 184.
Tidswail, 437.
Tilbury, 179.
Timble, 38, 39, 334.
Tolston, Toulston, 176, 184.
Towton, 267.
Trollers Gill, 364, 384.
Truckle Crags, 362.
UNDERLEY, 420.
I'rswick, 410, 412, 430, 466.
VALLK CRUCIS, 61.
Valley of Desolation, 358,
360.
Viking invasion, 35, 199, 225,
270, 475. 492.
Viking memorial, 35, 392.
Virginia, 180.
\VAKKJ--IKI.D, 78, 138.
Wales, 458.
Walton (Thorp Arch), 174.
Walton Head, i 13.
Wapentakes, origin of, 42,43.
Waresley, 377.
Washburn, 94, 107, 108.
Weeton, 299.
Wensleydale, 147, 380.
Wentworth, 246.
Weston, 39, 40, 55, 59, 82,
94, i oo, 163, 213, 268, 462,
481.
Westminster Abbey, 155.
Wetherby, 40, 55, 78, 398,
469.
Wharfe, meaning of, 189.
Village, 190.
Wharfedale Agricult. Snc.,
102, 181, 471.
Animals wild in, 360, 368,
471, 487, 499.
Floods, 485.
Poets, 140, 146, 155, 158,
(60.
Population, 23.
Rainfall, 19, 482.
Superstitions, 212, 230, 431.
Temperature, 482.
Wheatlev, 34, 203, 221, 436.
Whitby, 51, 59, 226.
Whitechurch, 74.
Wighill, 248.
Windsor, 456.
Wistow, 37.
Woodhouse, 323, 324, 365,
366, 377, 476.
Woofa, 235.
Woolley, 66.
Wormhill, 437.
YEADON, 39, 78, 79, 218, 242,
209.
York, 25, 35, 50, 67, 79, 93,
IOI, III, I 18, 122, 136, 149,
174, 203, 243, 303.
Castle, 281.
Gallows, 44.
Lepers, 51.
Nunnery, 50.
Yorkshire Par. Regr. Sory.,
69, 417.
Yockenthwaite, 491, 495.
Deiny 8VO., ,-,-J/ A^'V'.v, cloth, gilt lettered, iiy post ux.
Demy jtn., superior f>af>i-r, gilt tups, extra platen, jo/-. f-'i-^ remain.
Ro M A X TIC RlCHMONDSHl R K,
BEING A COMI'I.I II. A.CCOUN1 <>l THi:
HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, AND Si KNERV OF TIIK
Pun KKSQUE VALLEYS OF THE SWALK AND YORK, AND SURROUNDING
MOORS AND Gu NS.
BY HARRY SPKIGHT.
II '//// Map, flans, and numerous Illustrations.
SOMI-: PRMSS OPINIONS.
"Although there is no part of Yorkshire richer in historic inicrest or more
fascinating in picturescjueness, Richmondshire has lain almost as tallow ground for the
topographer since early in the century, when Dr. \Vhitaker brought out his monumental
work. But that work is somewhat restricted in its survey, whereas Mr. Speight has
left nothing- of moment untouched. Hoth valleys have been studied with unwearied
diligence and with obvious zest by Mr. Speight. His work is thorough and exhaustive,
and in addition it has the charm of extreme readableness. If tin- remainder of Yorkshire
could be covered and described as carefully and systematically as have the localities
forming the subjects of Mr. Speight's volumes, something like literary justice would be
done to the story of this great county." /.ecits Mercury.
"In this volume, well illustrated with photographic views, portraits, coats of arms,
X:c., Mr. Harrv Speight tells us all he has been able to glean about the town and
district of Richmond, CaUerick, Hedale, and the upper parts of Swaledale ; and then
crosMMg over to Wensleydale, takes us to Danbv, Bolton, Aysgarth, and the romantic
region about I lawes. Manv of its chapters are pleasant reading- to everybody, while
to the Yorkshire dalesmen, it ought to prove a most valuable storehouse of local
information." 7'inicx.
"Mr. Speight has a happy versatility. He can write with confidence on the
history, topography, geologv, ecclesiastical antiquities, and ancient customs of these
romantic districts in which he has spent his life. Much folk-lore, much family history,
and many a streak ot native humour lend variety to the pages, which are abundantly
i 1 1 ustrated. " — Acadi mv.
"The volume contains chapters of original research, mainly historical, anil is
admirably furnished with photographs, engravings, and maps. Two contributions to
history are of importance: one an account of the Knight Templars Hospice and Chapel
on Penhill, and the other the story of the Raydale Riot. * Dr. Whitaker's book
cannot now be purchased for less than £,12, but even if it were worth while reproducing
it, Mr. Speight's volume would compete with it successfully. In this volume Mr.
Speig-ht has produced the best piece of work which stands in his name. Yorkshire /'/.v/,
" Mr. Speight works carefully, takes pains to come at the best sources of informa-
tion, and in the case of Richmondshire as in that of each district which he has hitherto
treated, succeeds in giving us something distinctly better than former writers have
produced." Maniliester Guardian,
"The villages of the two dales are full of interest. The monastic houses of Easby,
Jervaulx, Penhill, and Marrick, all add to the mediaeval importance of the district, and
a locality whence came John Wycliffe can never be regarded as obscure. Mr. Speight
seems to have made a very complete perambulation of the whole district and describes
from personal acquaintance the most remote places. * * Gradually he is covering
the county with a series of local histories such as few, if any other parts of England can
show." — Bradford Observer.
"Mr. Speight is to be congratulated on having, at immense labour and research,
added another standard work to the literature of Yorkshire. There is not a page in
the volume that does not reveal some fresh fact or correct some old error. The
illustrations, too, are excellent and many of them of great rarity. * * It is certainly
the ablest contribution to the history and antiquities of Richmondshire since the time
of Dr. Whitaker, whose history is now so scarce and valuable." Darlington iind
Stockton Times.
"The moors are noted for their stock of grouse, and the rivers Swale and Yore
with their tributaries, have an attraction for the trout fisher. Such points are by no
means neglected by Mr. Speight, who also devotes a page to a concise history of the
well-known Beda'.e Hounds. * * This book should be in the hands of every
pleasure tourist who wishes to make the most of his visit." — Field.
"In this work Mr. Speight has sustained his reputation as one of the best
of Yorkshire topographers. His previous works were models of accuracy and
completeness, but the volume under notice is one of even more pretentious nature.
The histories of the towns and villages of interest in both of the grand dales with which
he deals are adequately given. * * The work should be in the hands of every
Yorkshire antiquary and lover of the Yorkshire hills and dales." — West Yorkshire
Pioneer.
Of old Yorkshire families more particularly dealt wlt/i mav be mentioned the following: —
Alderson, Allen, Aske, Atkinson, Banks, Bathurst, Bellerby, Birkbeck, Blackburn,
Blades, Bolton, Booth, Bowes, Brown, Bulmer, Burgh, Calvert, Chapman, Chaytor,
Clarke, Clifford, Close, Coates, Conyers, Coverdale, Cradock, Croft, D'Arcy, De la
Mare, Denys, Dundas, Ellerton, Fawcett, Fitzhugh, Fothergill, Fulthorpe, Gale,
Gascoigne, Gaunt, Gibson, Gill, Harker, Harrison, Hertford, Hicks, Home, Hutchinson,
Hutton, Ingleby, James, Jaques, Johnson, Kearton, King, Lawson, Leeds, Lennox,
Lightfoot, Lister, Loftus, Malolacu, Marmion, Mason, Metcalfe, Milbank, Montacute,
Moorhouse, Mowbray, Neville, Norton, Osborne, Other, Pattison, Peacock, Pigot,
Raine, Rawe, Robinson, Routh, Ryder,- St. Cjuintin, Scott, Scrope, Smith, Spensley,
Swale, Taylor, Tempest, Thoresby, Tiptoft, Tophani, Walker, Wandesforde, Webster,
Whaley, Wharncliffe, Wharton, Wickliffe, Wilkinson, Willis, Winn, Wood, Wyvill,
Yarker, Zetland.
The book contains more than ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS of historic buildings,
scenery, portraits, &c., by the best artists and engravers. Amongst the subjects are
the following : — The Conqueror granting Richmondshire to Earl Alan ; Keep of
Richmond Castle early this century; Remains of Chapel on Catterick Bridge; Brough
Hall a century ago; Bedale in the Coaching Days; the old Church in Coverdale;
Middleham Castle in 1780; Remains of Knights Templars Chapel on Penhill; Anglo-
Saxon Skeleton found in Wensley Park ; Aysgarth ; Bedstead of Mary, Queen of
Scots; Nappa Hall a century ago; Thomas, Marquis of Wharton; Dr. Fothergill,
F.R.S. ; Thomas, Earl of Zetland; Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of Canterbury; the
late Lord Bolton; Sir Wm. Lawson, Bart. ; Major Scrope; Lady Byron; "Sister
Dora"; Betty Webster (aged 106); etc.
LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C.
And all Booksellers,
V,-'.'., //< ft, iff, s, tlutli /imp, .,'''<>,• Ar
Very t'c\v co|)ics remain.
THROUGH AIREDALE FROW GOOLE TO
AALHA/A,
Ks o\- i HI-
GEOLOGY, BOTANY, ORNITHOLOGY, FOLK-LORE, AND ANGLING
IN AIREDALE.
BY
JOHNMH GRAY (H. SI-KICHT).
The work includes a history of every place on the banks of the A ire between ( loole
and Malliam, with brief descriptions of the objects of interest from six to ten miles
round the principal places.
Seventy Illustrations and Map.
The 1'nntefract Advertiser says: " \Ve know nothing to equal it, or to pretend to
the smallest rivalry with it." The /irudfnrd Observer says : " It is like looking- through
a telescope at the stars, or at a drop of water through a microscope."
I.KKDS : WAI.KKR <S: L. \YCOCK. I>KAD!'oKD : T. HKKAK & Co., Ln.
SKIPIOX : KDMOXDSON & Co.
.V;v., jrj pa tfes, eluth limp, j'6 ; by post j'y.
TRA/APS AND DRIVES IN THE CRAVEN
HIGHLANDS,
,\RR.\X<;F.I) FOR THK CSF OF VISITORS.
BY
H. SPEIGHT.
Is abridged from the author's larger work, but much new matter is added,
likewise Footpath Maps of the country around Settle and Ingleton, besides a folding'
Map of the whole area embraced by the work. By utilising' some of the illustrations
trom the larger work, it has been possible to publish the book at a low price.
The Daily Chnniiele observes : "This is one of the most interesting- local histories
which we have read for a long- time." The Yorkshire Post says: "The volume is
marked by much originality, many objects and antiquities being pointed out that have
iml been before mentioned. All the caves and pot-holes (about 70) are described, and
iheir exact localities defined." The Leeds Meirnrv says : " It is a bright and interesting-
guide-book, with admirable descriptions and sufficient history and folk-lore, topography,
g-rolng-y, &c." The Carlisle Journal observes: "It covers the whole country from
Skipton to Kirkby I.onsdale, and northwards to Dentdale, an area of over 500 square
miles, and is as instructive as a .\fninty, and as compact as a Hiiedeket." The Bradford
Obsen'er says : " It is by far the best handbook on the district procurable." Mr. J. A.
Farrer, J.P. (lord of the manor of Clapham, Ingleborough, &c.) writes: "It is an
admirable work, and it seems to be a model of what a guide-book should be."
KU.IOT STOCK, (>j, PATICKNOSTEK Row, LONDON, E.G.
THIRD EDITION.
Crox/i fii'it., 417 pa.ift'S, doth gilt, J/6 ,• extra bound, tfilt tups, 4 ft.
Cru-vii 4t»., superior paper, gilt tops, extra I'nuitispiece /'/«/<•, 75 -.
Chronicles and Stories of Old Bingley.
A I I'LL ACCOrNT Ol-' THE
HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, NATURAL PRODUCTIONS,
SCENERY, CUSTOMS, AND FOLK-LORE
OF THE ANCIENT TOWN AND
PARISH OF BINGLEY, IN THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE.
HY
HARRY SPEIGHT,
Author of " The Craven Highlands ; " " Through Airedale ; " " Nidderdale ; "
" Romantic Richmondshire ;" " Upper Wliarfedale ; " etc.
Containing Thirty four Full-page Plates, and about Sixty
Illustrations in the Text.
SOME PRESS NOTICES.
"The topographical, historical, and antiquarian work of Mr. Marry Speight is so
well known to the inhabitants of the West Riding that they will hardly need to be told
that his most recent book Clnoiiicles and Stories of Old Ringlcy — is a marvel of
diligence, thoroughness, and painstaking accuracy. It includes not only the result of
a large amount of scientific and historical research, but likewise anecdotes, traditions,
and personal reminiscences, which in a few years might have been irrecoverably lost
and forgotten through the passing away of the few witnesses who can recall them to
recollection. The inhabitants of Bingley owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to
Mr. Speight for having thus rescued from oblivion a very large amount of interesting
and valuable matter which, in the natural order of things, would have been entirely
lost. In fact the book may be pronounced in a certain sense final, since nothing will
be left to any possible literary successor, except to rearrange the matter here provided
according to his own taste, and bring it up to date by additional facts of subsequent
occurrence. Mr. Speight begins at the beginning — far back behind the realm of the
antiquarian proper with the geological history of the foundation rocks which underlie
the alluvium and drift upon which a large part of the town stands. He even traces the
materials of which these rocks are composed to their original sources in northern
gneissic and granitic mountains Through the Ice Age and its probable
sequence of events Mr. Speight conducts to the early settlement of the district by
primaeval man, the aboriginal race, the Goidelic and Brythonic Celts ; and this part of
the work has the merit of being applied and illustrated by reference to local place-
names. The etymological evidence is of extreme interest and value, and although it i-
of course well to be on one's guard against too fanciful or too plausible interpretations
of the names now borne by different places, it is impossible to class Mr. Speight with
the reckless speculators in this alluring pastime. The chapters on " Old Roads," and
" Old Dykes and Boundaries " are equally fascinating to those who love to linger on
the early doings and records of the races who occupied and subdued the land ; but it is
impossible for us to do more than thus briefly draw the reader's attention to the good
fare provided for him Everything has been admirably and conscientiously
done from beginning to end, and there is not a careless or slovenly detail in the
volume." — Keighley News.
" Probably no completcr history <>t a small town has been written than Mr.
Harry Speight's Chnniicles u, ' Olil liin^l, \-. Mr. Speight lias studied cverv
feature of the ancient parish with such minuteness, and such a shrewd eye tor its
meaning1, that the mounds and rings and dykes, and unintelligible carved stones which
remain lo speak of tliem, enable him to re-people the dale- with (ioidcl and Brython,
Roman, Angle, and Dane, each in their habit as they lived. Nay, earlier Mill, he has
deserilicd the slow formation of the valley, the coming- of its plant life, i|s preparation
for man, and all with a picturesque hand. In respect of place and field-names, and the.
verification of their meaning by an examination of sites, the book is a piece ot original
work the like ot which we have never seen." Yorkshire I'ost.
"The book will be. a surprise to most readers, both residents in and visitors to
Bingley, for few have any idea that the little town, whose interest tor most people
nowadays is its charming and even romantic scenery, lias come so often into touch with
the greater stream of the national life. It is indeed obvious throughout the work that
tht records in London, York, and \Vaketield have been assiduously searched, as well as
due notice taken of local archives. The modern history is very full, and there are brief
notices (some 90 pages) of (he surrounding places, Morton, Kldwick, ( 'ottingley,
Harden, Cullingwortli, and \Vilsdcn. The book i- capitally illustrated." Hnulluid
• :•<'/-.
" Mr. Speight pos>,.sscs the rare gilt of giving a general interest to his studies in
local history. The history of Hingley is by no means insignificant as local histories go.
Mr. Speight has devoted much patient labour and research to its elucidation, and
should his pleasant descriptions and illustrations attract visitors to the district, they will
find in him a very competent and instructive guide." Times.
" Mr. Speight appears to us to have done his work mosi carefully and
conscientiously, and produced a book which will not only be pri/ed by the inhabitants
of Binglev, but by a numerous class in all the districts around. The illustrations of
antiquities, noted resiliences, portraits of celebrities, etc., are both numerous and
excellent. It is also admirably printed and bound." Halifax Courier.
"It is pleasantly descriptive of actual tact, whether as regards manorial history or
scenic surroundings, and it is strong in biographical interest. Few of our parishes in
these later davs have had so able and conscientious a chronicler."- /.ectts Mercury.
"The work is divided into four parts, the first extending from the foundation ol
the rocks to the Ice Age and the advent of man ; the second brings us down to the
Norman invasion ; ami the third continues the work to the present day. The
•concluding part deals with the outlying- districts. Throughout the book is full of
interest, and will, without doubt, become the standard authority on all the matters of
local history with which the author has dealt." liintfley Chronicle.
"The third part deals with the manorial history of Bingley, its history during the
<"rusades, the chronicles of the 141)1, i6th, and succeeding centuries, and then passes
on to very interesting ground when treating of the history which surrounds the
foundation of the Parish Church, the (Irammar School, the National Schools, and local
Nonconformity. His remarks on the extension of the town and trade are very full, and
show much careful examination, while those chapters dealing with folk-lore and old
customs, pleasant walks, and places of public resort, cannot fail to be of immense
interest. It is an excellent volume, and has been handsomely printed by Mr. Kdward
Foulds, of Binglcy." H'fst Yorkshire /'ioneer.
"It is a very comprehensive, valuable, and interesting work, and we should say
will add greatly to the able author's reputation as a historian and antiquarv." /Unifier
Herald. .
LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATKKNOSTER Row, K.C.,
And all Booksellers.
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
DA Speight, Harry
6?0 Upper Wharfedale
W56S6